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WALT  AND  VULT, 

OR 

THE  TWINS. 


WALT  AND  VULT, 

OR 

THE  TWINS. 

TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  FLEGELJAHRE 

OF 

JEAN  7  AVL^'^i'Mi^^^^ 

BY  THE 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  "LIFE  OF  JEAN  PAUL." 
IN  TWO  VOLUMES. 

VOL.  II. 

BOSTON: 

JAMES  MUNROE  AND  COMPANY. 
NEW-YORK: 
WILEY  &  PUTNAM. 
1846. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  tlie  year  1845,  by 
James  Munroe  and  Company, 
the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts 


BOSTON: 

PRINTED  BY  THURSTOM,  TORRr  AND  CO. 

31  Devonshire  Street. 


CONTENTS 

OF 

VOLUME  THE  SECOND. 


PAGE 

J 

.  12 
16 

.  24 
33 

.  41 
48 

.  54 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  BROTHERS.  —  WINA 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  COPYING-HOUR 

CHAPTER  III. 

DREAMING.  —  SINGING.  —  PRAYING 

CHAPTER  IV. 

DREAMS  FROM  DREAMS  . 

CHAPTER  V. 

A  NEW  WILL  .... 

CHAPTER  VI. 

RAPHAELA 

CHAPTER  VII. 

ENTRANCE  ON  A  JOURNEY 

CHAPTER  VIII. 


vi  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  IX. 
THE  beggar's  staff  ....  68 

CHAPTER  X. 

LIFE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .72 

CHAPTER  XI. 
comedians.— the  man  -with  the  mask    .  .  82 

CHAPTER  XII. 

ADVENTURES  .  .  .  .  .  .88 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  ACTRESS    ......  94 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  FRESH  MORNING        .....  100 

CHAPTER  XV. 

CHARTREUSE  OF  THE  IBI AGIN ATION. —  BON-MOTS      .  110 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  ROSENHOF  NIGHT       .....  120 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

CONCLUSION  OF   THE  JOURNEY  .  .  .  131 

CHAPTER  XVni. 

DEVELOPMENTS  OF  THE  JOURNEY  —  AND  OF  THE  TRIALS 

OF  THE  NOTARY  .....  139 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

GENTEEL  LIFE  .....  155 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER  XX. 

PAINTING. — BILL   OF  EXCHANGE 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

SORROWS  OF  YOUNG   WALT. — WINTER  QUARTERS 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

DOUBLE  LIFE  ..... 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

RECOLLECTIONS  .... 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

PROOF-SHEETS. — WINA  .... 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

SKATING  PARTY  .... 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE  new-year's  NIGHT 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
preliminary  arrangements 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE  MASKED-BALL  .... 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

LETTER. — night-wandering 


WALT  AND  VULT, 

OR 

THE  TAY  INS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  BEOTHERS.  WINA. 

Sacred,  holy  day,  that  which  follows  the  recon- 
ciliation of  men  !  Love  is  again  timid  and  virgin  ; 
the  beloved  new-born  and  glorified  ;  the  heart  cele- 
brates anew  its  Älay  time,  and  the  survivors  from  the 
field  of  contest  forget  or  cannot  understand  the  cause 
of  the  war. 

Battles,  like  storms,  clear  up  the  sky.  The 
brothers,  after  theirs,  stood  in  the  fairest  weather, 
and  looked  at  each  other  and  at  everything  else  in 
the  light  of  sunshine.  Walt,  who  was  all  love  and 
generosity,  knew  not,  indeed,  how  he  could  be  either 
warmer  or  tenderer  towards  his  brother ;  he  labored 
always  for  the  highest  expression  of  benevolence. 
The  little  scars  left  by  the  stings  of  conscience  still 
burnt  and  smarted,  and  the  tears  of  the  once  arid 
Vult  were  collected  and  preserved  in  his  heart.  Vult 
himself  felt  like  a  man  furnished  with  new  melodies 


VOL.  II. 


1 


I 


2  V/ALT  AND  VULT, 

from  the  canon  of  love,  but  whether  he  would  mani- 
fest them  through  deeds,  more  than  in  words,  was 
yet  to  appear ;  his  frequent  visits,  his  mildness  and 
compliance,  his  offers  of  service  (although  he  fre- 
quently departed  abruptly)  and  sometimes  the 
brotherly  embrace  betrayed  his  inward  emotion. 
"  No  one,"  said  Walt  to  him  once,  "  can  look  more 
expressively  tender  than  you,  when  your  piercing 
eyes  are  softened  by  a  mild  expression ;  thus  the 
Spartans  always  came  before  me,  as  they  went  into 
battle  with  their  flutes."  "  I  am  then,"  said  Vult, 
"  like  the  sea-dog  when  he  says  mama.^  Yes,  I 
may  even  then  call  myself  a  piano  hurricane.  But 
to  speak  seriously,  I  am  now,  in  consequence  of  the 
proceeds  of  the  concert,  a  very  lamb,  a  pious  lamb, 
my  life  is  a  book  of  leaf  gold ;  but,  my  child,  the 
leaves  are  as  tender  and  thin  as  the  gold-beaters'  foil 
itself." 

Walt  was  never  displeased  with  such  speeches, 
and  Vult  trusted  so  much  in  his  love  that  he  began 
to  look  upon  himself  as  the  next  heir  to  the  throne, 
that  the  count  had  abandoned,  and  in  this,  he  should, 
as  he  remarked,  only  repay  his  brother  who  had 
preceded  him,  at  least,  one  day  in  love. 

Vult  had  also  heard  from  his  little  bell  wires  —  it 
w^as  thus  he  called  a  whole  boarding-school  of  young 
ladies,  to  whom  he  gave  music  lessons  —  of  Walt's 


*  The  sea-do^,  according  to  Beckstein,  learns  to  murmur 
mama  and  papa. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


3 


warm  defence  of  himself  at  Newpeter's  dinner ;  ex- 
actly at  the  moment  also,  when  from  extreme  jeal- 
ousy his  own  love  had  suffered  a  pause.  Walt  had 
never  mentioned  this  defence,  not  6o  much  from 
delicacy  to  Vult,  as  from  forbearance  to  the  whole 
world ;  and  from  reluctance  to  speak  of  the  Van  der 
Kable  testament,  whose  conditions  had  so  offended 
his  brother.  Vult,  as  he  now  entered,  pressed  in  the 
warmth  of  his  love  both  shoulders  of  Walt,  and 
jokingly  made  known  to  him  that  he  had  heard  the 
Newpeter  anecdote.  But  it  was  an  unlucky  time. 
Walt  was  writing  the  romance,  and  embracing  with 
his  writing  arm  all  the  five  parts  of  the  world,  and 
was  just  then  describing  the  festival  of  meeting  with 
kindred  souls ;  his  thoughts  dwelling  upon  the  lost 
Klothar.  With  a  melancholy  delight  he  now  described 
the  grief  for  a  lost  friend,  as  he  had  formerly  de- 
scribed the  desire  for  the  possession  of  one,  and 
wondered  at  the  difference  of  his  feelings.  That 
delightfully  exciting  dinner  at  Newpeter's,  to  v/hich 
his  thoughts  had  been  led  back  by  Vult,  placed  the 
count  again  near  his  heart,  and  he  confessed  to  his 
brother,  that  the  banished  count,  his  life,  desolated  by 
the  loss  of  Wina,  was  always  in  his  memory,  and 
heavy  upon  his  conscience  ;  that  he  always  saw  him 
a  captive  in  that  closed  carriage,  like  an  eagle  driven 
from  the  freedom  of  heaven  and  confined  in  a  cage  : 
and  that  there  was  no  martyrdom  upon  earth  more 
bitter,  than  the  consciousness  of  having  pained  or 
injured  a  noble  spirit.    "  Oh,  Vult,  if  there  be  any 


I 

4  WALT  AND  VULT, 

consolation,  give  it  mc,"  he  cried  in  strong  .emotion  : 
"  innocent  intentions  console  one  little.  If  with  the 
most  innocent  intentions,  an  ill  directed  spark  had 
set  fire  to  a  hospital,  a  humble  ■  Swiss  village,  or 
a  prison,  and  you  saw  only  the  flames  and  the 
whitened  bones  ?  Ach  Gott  !  what  could  help 
you  ? " 

"  Cold  reason  would  help  me,  and  I  will  console 
you,"  answered  Vult  calmly.  "  At  the  young  ladies' 
boarding-school  near  by,  where  I  give  lessons,  I 
learnt  all  the  preceding  circumstances.  While  I  was 
blind  I  sat  every  evening  with  the  young  ladies. 
Theirs  is  the  quickest  Vienna-post  that  I  ever  met 
with,  for  they  report  many  events  while  they  are  yet 
happening.  The  count  is  not  excused,  as  you  were, 
by  inadvertence  in  his  mean  misrepresentations  about 
the  reading  and  restoring  his  letter.  He  acts  after 
the  manner  of  the  French  tragedians,  who  if  any- 
thing is  to  be  explained,  would  rather  take  upon 
themselves  a  great  sin  than  a  small ;  an  incest  rather 
than  an  unchastity."  Walt  acknowledged  that  Klo- 
thar's  transgression  lightened  the  burthen  of  his  own, 
but  he  remained  melancholy.  In  society  it  is  easier 
to  put  a  man  down  than  to  elevate  him  ;  with  Walt 
it  was  the  contrary.  Vult  departed  and  promised  to 
come  soon  again. 

One  afternoon,  Flitt,  whose  dancing-hall  was  the 
vrhole  city,  sprang  into  Walt's  apartment.  It  was 
his  habit  to  number  as  many  old  acquaintances  as 
there  were  inhabitants  in  the  place,  and  without 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


5 


ceremony  he  reckoned  Walt  one  of  the  friends, 
among  the  friendly  multitude.  The  latter  readily 
believed  that  he  came  from  regard  to  him,  and  was 
somewhat  embarrassed  by  his  joy,  and  his  anxiety  to 
entertain  such  a  distinguished  man  of  the  world. 
He  hunted  diligently  above  in  the  four  chambers  of 
the  brain,  and  then  beneath  in  both  chambers  of  the 
heart,  hoping  to  start  a  little  savory  corn  of  an  idea, 
and,  like  a  mouse,  catch  and  lay  it  before  the  Alsatian 
to  breakfast  upon.  He  found  little  that  he  could 
relish,  for  the  Alsatian  was  without  hunger,  and  with- 
out teeth.  Learned  people  sitting  whole  weeks,  day 
in,  and  day  out,  in  their  studies,  surfeiting  upon  rich 
banquets,  and  tit-bits  from  all  ages  and  all  parts  of 
the  world,  think  people  of  business  are  displeased 
and  famished  if  they  are  not  regaled  with  the  warm 
and  rich  ideas  that  drop,  as  conversation  turns  upon 
the  spit.  But  it  is  a  mistake.  The  man  of  business 
is  satisfied  if  he  sit,  and  the  man  of  the  world  if  he 
only  stand  by  the  window,  and  learn  that  the  countess 
yesterday  at  dinner  was  uncommonly  gay,  and  that 
the  iaron,  whose  name  he  never  heard,  merely 
passed  through  the  city  this  morning  without  stop- 
ping. To  the  learned  this  can  hardly  be  too  often 
repeated,  else  they  draw  after  them  a  provision-wag- 
gon loaded  with  more  or  less  thought,  and  little  wit, 
to  furnish  conversation.  Flitt,  who  was  as  ignorant 
of  all  that  was  real,  as  Walt  of  all  that  vf^iS  'personal, 
was  unable  to  begin  any  conversation,  although  he 
sang,  danced,  and  spoke  well.    He  went  from  the 


G 


VT  ALT  AND  VrLT, 


bookshelf  lo  the  window,  and  from  the  window  to  the 
bookshelf,  taking  from  each  something  to  say,  for  he 
wished  to  be  an  fait  with  every  one,  upon  every 
subject  of  interest.  Some  men  are  harpsichords,  to 
be  played  by  only  one  person ;  others,  are  instruments 
that  belong  only  to  concerts.  Flitt  could  speak 
only  with  a  multitude  ;  in  a  duett  he  was  wholly 
stupid. 

At  length  Walt  began  to  feel  the  ennui  which  he 
thought  he  imparted.  In  conversation,  as  in  faro,  it 
has  been  shown,  that  the  icinnings  in  satisfaction,  as 
in  gold,  are  never  greater  than  the  stakes  in  either. 
"  Well,"  he  thought,  "  I  will  study  in  him,  the 
French  character  ;  Alsatia  is  certainly  sufficiently 
French,  and  afterwards  I  can  make  a  cast  of  him 
as  he  now  appears,  for  my  hall  of  casts  in  my 
romance." 

While  Walt  was  thus  employed,  he  shut  the  window 
suddenly,  and  bowed  through  the  glass  ;  as  Raphaela, 
who  was  walking  with  Wina  towards  the  settino;  sun, 
turned  back  her  head  and  greeted  him  slightly. 
Flitt  caught  the  glance  and  bowed  also.  Raphaela 
turned  again  quickly  and  acknowledged  the  bow. 
Wina  slowly  continued  her  walk,  as  though  under 
heavy  sorrow,  looking  sometimes  towards  the  de- 
clining sun,  with  her  handkerchief  at  her  eyes.  Walt 
forgot  himself  so  entirely  that  he  sighed  audibly  and 
said,  "  the  general's  daughter  is  weeping."  "  There, 
beneath  "  asked  Flitt,  coldly,  "  it  is  her  despair  at 
the  loss  of  the  count,  for  she  cannot  survive  his  loss 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


7 


 till  another  time ;  a  revoir,  ami  !  "  and  he  flew 

down  to  the  garden. 

•  Walt  placed  himself  at  the  widow,  supported  his 
head  with  the  hand  that  covered  his  eyes,  and  had  a 
long  severe  pain.  Fie  was  unable  to  look  at  the 
lovely  face  of  the  beautiful  Wina,  or  to  listen  to  her 
sorrow,  even  with  glances,  when  she  turned  and  came 
towards  him.  He  was  alarmed  at  the  thought  of 
meeting  her  when  he  should  first  write,  at  her  father's. 
At  length  the  setting  sun,  with  motherly  smiles, 
warmed  him  from  the  wintry  sleep  of  this  sad  hour. 
The  garden  was  now  empty,  and  he  went  down. 
He  knew  not  what  led  him  but  he  followed  the  same 
path  Wina  had  taken.  In  the  bushes  fluttered  a  half- 
torn  sheet  of  letter  paper.  He  took  it  and  saw  that 
it  was  in  a  female  hand,  and  contained,  as  he  saw  by 
the  marks  of  quotation,  a  passage  copied  from 
another  letter.  A  half  sheet  torn  in  two,  containing 
a  copy  from  a  second  letter  (the  first  he  never  could 
have  read)  he  thought,  he  might,  indeed,  with  honor 
look  at  and  read. 

"  flowers  rent  asunder  —  believe  me.  Oh, 

how  easy  it  is  to  bear  one's  own  pains  !  But  tell  me, 
why  it  is  so  hard  to  bear  the  sorrows  that  we  have 
been  constrained  to  cause  others  ?  How  can  a  being 
with  a  human  heart,  cause  whole  nations  to  weep, 
when  we  suffer  so  much  when  we  make  one  person 
unhappy.  Conceal,  and  be  silent  upon  my  conscien- 
tious scruples,  that  my  father,  who  is  so  soon  to  be 


8 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


informed  of  everything,  may  not  be  tormented.  Yet 
you  would  be  secret  without  my  prayer.  In  the 
mean  time  my  resolution  is  as  firm  as  ever.  I  can 
now  do  nothing  but  suffer  and  be  better,  reward 
Mm  by  what  it  costs  me  !  I  go  frequently  to  church, 
and  write  often  to  my  mother.  I  am  more  tender 
towards  my  father,  and  to  every  human  soul ;  should 
not  I,  who  find  happiness  in  the  bosom  of  the 
church,  bring  it  to  others,  and  increase  it  wherever 
I  can }  For  myself,  it  had  long  ceased,  even  be- 
fore I  parted  from  him  !  Oh,  be  then  happy,  my 
Raphaela  ! " 

From  this  extract,  you  can  see,  dearest,  how  this 
wound  of  my  Wina's  must  oppress  my  too  tender 
heart.  Farewell !  The  golden  heart,  if  you  have 
not  yet  ordered  it  at  the  goldsmith's,  must  weigh  full 
three  half  ounces.  My  mother  has  received  the 
Hasen-hrecher  and  the  bracelet. 

Thy  RAPH.1ELA." 

While  reading,  Walt  was  called  in  the  gayest  tone 
from  his  own  window  by  Yult,  and  as  he  went  up  to 
him,  he  finished  the  letter. 

"  You  know,*'  began  Yult,  "  my  trumpet  of  fame  } 
my  Delphian  sybil  of  the  yast  ?  that  is,  my  hired 
torches  ?  Heavens  !  do  you  not  understand  ?  I 
mean  my  historical  octavo  ;  my  eight  parts  of  speech  ; 
for  there  are  eight  young  ladies.  The  devil !  The 
boarding-school !  From  thence,  as  the  purest  source. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


9 


I  learnt  what  follows  ;  for  the  general,  who  visits 
there  often,  like  all  curious  people,  tells  as  much  as 
he  learns. 

"  It  is  understood  by  the  Dogaressa  or  director  of 
the  young  ladies,  that  for  a  couple  of  pieces  of  news, 
or  even  for  civilities,  he  would  sacrifice  as  many 
daughters'  souls,  as  there  are  girls  in  the  pension. 
The  day  before  yesterday,  the  general  celebrated  his 
birth-day,  and,  according  to  his  usual  custom,  partook 
of  the  sacrament,  and  before  dinner  heard  a  long 
sermon,  full  of  medicine  for  the  soul.  Flis  daughter 
must  always  go  to  the  confessional  with  him.  On  his 
birth  and  confession  days,  he  has  an  especial  love  for 
her ;  for  she  is  a  sort  of  baptismal  water  to  him.  He 
has  indeed  this  only  merit,  that  he  sincerely  wishes 
the  happiness  of  his  daughter,  and,  therefore,  suffers 
her  constant  intercourse  with  her  Protestant  mother 
in  Leipsic,  whom  he  cordially  hates  ;  and  he  is  so 
liberal  to  the  daughter,  that  the  mother  depends 
wholly  on  her.  As  he  remained  the  whole  day  to- 
gether with  Wina  and  the  confessional,  he  had  wept 
and  drank  a  great  deal.  He  now  demanded  a  con- 
fession from  her,  and  asked,  why  she  was  yet  so 
melancholy  ?  and  told  her,  she  appeared  to  hold  the 
count  dearer  than  her  God,  the  church,  or  her  father. 
She  answered  warmly,  that  she  valued  him  less  than 
either.  That  the  church-rath  Glänze,  had  often 
spoken  to  her  of  her  Catholic  faith,  but  she  had 
merely  listened  to  him  from  politeness  ;  and  that  the 
count  was  no  more  valued  by  her  than  any  other 


10 


WALT  A\D  VULT, 


good  man.  Zablocki  asked,  much  astonished,  why 
then,  with  complete  freedom  of  choice,  she  would 
marry  him  ? 

"  '  I  hoped,'  she  said,  with  some  hesitation,  '  that 
by  a  disinterested  sacrifice,  I  might  bring  him  back 
to  our  holy  religion  ! '  Walt !  convert  a  philosopher  ! 
—  sooner  baptize  and  tonsure  a  peruke  ! 

"  The  general  laughed  and  wept  at  the  same  time  ; 
but  he  continued  to  press  roughly  upon  the  tender, 
delicate  being  before  him,  forced  himself  into  her 
open  heart,  and  brought  out  the  second  secret ; 
namely,  that  she  hoped  she  might  be  able,  from  this 
rich  marriage,  to  offer  to  her  divorced  Protestant 
mother,  and  to  her  father,  so  involved  in  debt,  some 
little  solace  ;  in  short,  to  throw  them  a  pillow,  upon 
which  they  might  repose  for  the  remainder  of  their 
lives.  The  inebriated  father  could  not  forbear  swear- 
ing, that  he  would  sooner  send  a  grape-shot  through 
his  heart,  or  give  up  his  Warsaw  law-suit,  than  urge 

or  oppress  such  a  true  and  precious  soul  as  hers  

And  so  forth  !  Art  thou  consoled  ?  "  Walt  was 
silent.  Vult  took  the  torn  letter  from  his  hand, 
read,  and  found  in  it  the  confirmation  of  his  news. 
He  made  his  satirical  remarks  upon  Raphaela's 
female  epistolary  style  ;  mixing  hearts  and  cos- 
metics, great  and  little,  together.  Walt  answered, 
that  this  manner  of  narration  only  proved,  that 
women  were  more  epic  ;  men,  on  the  contrary, 
more  lyrical. 

A  lackey  of  Zablocki's  came  in,  and  informed 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


11 


him,  that  to-morrow,  at  four  o'clock,  he  was  expected 
at  the  general's,  for  the  well-known  business  of  copy- 
ing. Walt  concealed  from  his  brother,  the  whole 
evening,  the  violence  of  his  emotions  at  the  prospect 
before  him. 


No.  33.   Strdlglimmer.  {Mica.) 


12 


WALT   AND  VULT, 


CHAPTErx  n. 

THE  COPYING-HOUR. 

At  four  o'clock,  Walt  appeared  in  the  presence  of 
the  general,  who,  as  usual,  met  the  blue-eyes  with  a 
smile.  His  fears  of  the  recollection  of  the  fatal  let- 
ter, or  the  appearance  of  the  writer,  had  been  vain. 
Zablocki  gave  him  the  anonymous,  or  rather  the  let- 
ters, with  their  baptismal  names,  placed  upon  a  finely 
veined  and  polished  secretary,  together  with  his  wri- 
ting orders,  and  left  him. 

With  as  many  exquisite  final  letters,  and  artificial 
flourishes,  as  could  be  sent  from  Paris  only,  Walt 
copied,  and,  at  length,  ventured  to  look  about  him. 

The  beautiful  cabinet,  by  the  aid  of  painted  tapes- 
try, was  made  to  represent  a  flowery  arbor,  but  filled 
with  perfumes  that  came  from  real  flowers,  and  veiled 
by  a  green  twilight,  produced  by  drawing  down  the 
blinds,  and  softening  the  day-light  to  evening.  Even 
in  winter  these  leafy  imitations  had  been  to  Walt  a 
source  of  enchantment.  "  In  that  wardrobe,  I  think," 
he  said  to  himself,  "  is  the  celestial  blue  dress.*'  He 
wrote,  as  though  reclining  upon  a  gently  moving 
cloud.  When  an  expression  in  the  letters  suited 
his  own  situation,  he  soothed  himself  with  the 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


13 


thought,  that  he  was  under  the  same  roof,  perhaps 
within  the  same  apartment,  bearing  the  same  badge 
of  mourning  as  herself ;  who,  after  the  sun  of  friend- 
ship had  set,  gleamed  forth  as  the  quiet  Hesperus  of 
love. 

He  copied  with  open  ears  ;  for,  not  without  fear, 
the  hope  possessed  him,  that  Wina  might  enter  the 
cabinet  and  approach  one  of  the  secretaries,  the 
wooden  or  the  living.  Nothing  came.  He  was  con- 
sidering, whether  he  might  venture  to  open  the  ward- 
robe and  touch  with  his  hand  the  celestial  dress,  like 
the  blue  ether,  in  which  the  sun  lightly  rests,  or  ap- 
proach it  with  his  lips,  when  the  general  entered, 
looked  at,  and  praised  the  copy,  and  dismissed  the 
secretary. 

Thus  happily  went  over  the  writing  hour,  and  the 
danger  of  seeing  Wina ;  and  he  wavered  home,  with 
a  head  that  had  drunk  a  little  too  much  from  the 
over-full  heart.  Upon  the  towers  of  the  city  and  the 
summits  of  the  park,  there  yet  lingered  a  sweet,  red 
sun-light,  that  awakened,  at  the  same  moment,  both 
within  and  without  Haslau,  the  longings  and  the  hopes 
of  men. 

Walt  wrote,  the  second  day,  with  the  same  trem- 
bling fear,  that  Wina  might  open  the  door.  The 
third  passed,  and  no  one  came.  He  was  now  like 
the  soldier,  that  time  makes  so  courageous,  he  longed 
intensely  for  the  danger.  At  this  time,  whole  nights, 
the  pious  and  lovely  maiden  stood  before  his  soul ; 
he  enjoyed,  in  this  manner,  an  eternal  spring,  merely 


14  WALT   AND  VULT, 

as  he  formed  and  dismissed  one  plan  after  another, 
by  Vvhich  he  could  repair  the  consequences  of  the 
open  letter,  and  effect  something  favorable  for  the 
count.  But  no  very  good  idea  ever  occurred  to 
him. 

The  fourth  day  he  heard,  while  writing,  a  female 
voice  singing  ;  that,  although  from  the  third  chamber, 
was  as  good  for  him  as  though  it  came  from  the  third 
heaven.  He  copied  on,  much  excited,  while  one  city 
of  the  sun,  after  another,  was  built  within  him  by 
these  Orpheus'  tones,  and  all  the  rocks  of  life  danced 
after  them.  He  well  remembered  what  Vult  had 
writtAi  him  of  Wina's  sinojing.    As  he  went  home, 

OD  ' 

he  heard  the  same  voice  before  him,  proceeding  from 
a  young  girl  with  a  box  under  her  arm,  who  was  de- 
scending the  steps  ;  and  he  had  the  mortification  to 
hear  the  voice  say  to  another  in  the  street,  that  the 
Fraiilein  (for  it  was  Wina's  dressing-maid)  would 
not  return  from  Elterlein  till  next  Friday.  Walt  was 
immediately  seized  with  a  violent  longing  to  be  out 
of  the  city,  and  again  in  the  place  of  his  birth.  He 
was  infinitely  curious  to  look  in  the  face  of  this  re- 
flection of  the  sacred  neighborhood  of  Wina,  and 
more  especially  of  a  person  whose  divine  tones  he 
adored,  as  he  followed  them.  He  had  long  believed 
that  a  first  singer  could  not  be  the  least  of  the  saints  ; 
and  he  never  would  believe,  that  any  but  a  modest 
woman  could  keep  a  divine  voice  ;  an  opinion  that 
good-humored  people  of  the  world  will  ascribe  more 
to  his  ignorance  of  the  stage,  and  of  the  world,  than 


OR  THE   TWINS.  15 

to  stupidity.  He  had  scarcely  made  three  hasty 
steps,  ia  order  to  pass  her,  than  he  heard  three 
curses,  and  a  word  of  double  meaning  from  her  lips. 
He  turned  quickly  back,  with  the  order  chain  in  his 
hand,  with  which  he  had  adorned  her  as  one  of  the 
sisters  of  the  order  of  slaves  of  virtue,  but  had  torn 
it  immediately  away ;  and  in  a  dark  lane  of  the  city, 
he  concealed  his  regret,  that  a  soul  so  coarse  pos- 
sessed the  voice  of  an  angel,  and  dwelt  so  near  a 
saint. 

High  above  him,  in  the  shining  clouds  of  heaven, 
hovered  the  form  of  Wina ;  and  it  seemed  as  though 
death  only  could  bring  him  to  her,  as  it  would  to 
God. 


No.  34.   'Petrified  thistles. 


16 


WALT   A>'D  VLLT, 


CHAPTER  III. 

DREAMING.  SINGING.  PRAYING. 

The  Friday  after,  the  day  that  Wina  should  come 
home,  Wah  sprang,  without  thinking  of  her,  as  de- 
lightedly from  his  bed,  as  if  it  had  been  his  bridal 
morning.  He  knew  no  reason,  but  that  the  whole 
night  he  had  had  a  constantly  returning,  blessed 
dream,  of  which  he  could  retain  neither  word  nor 
form,  but  only  an  undefined  bliss.  Like  flowers  of 
heaven,  dreams  often  pass  through  the  whole  nights 
of  men,  leaving  only  a  strange  summer  perfume,  the 
traces  of  their  vanishing. 

The  sun  shone  brighter  and  nearer  to  him.  All 
whom  he  met  were  more  beautiful  and  worthier  than 
before.  The  unknown  fountains  of  the  night  over- 
flowed his  breast  with  so  much  love,  that  he  knew 
not  where  he  should  conduct  the  streams.  He  sought, 
at  first,  to  pour  them  upon  paper,  but  he  could  write 
neither  prose  nor  poetry.  This  morning  was  like 
that  after  a  night  of  dancing,  when  one  can  do  noth- 
ing but  dream  ;  when  all  must  be  gentle,  even  joy 
itself.  Evening  songs  only,  can  be  listened  to  in 
such  a  morning  ;  and  a  veil,  but  transparent  and 
bright-colored,  is  drawn  over,  and  softens  all  the 
sounds  and  sisrhts  of  earth. 

D 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


17 


Walt  could  do  nothing  —  "God  grant,"  he  said, 
"  I  may  have  no  deed  to  draw  to-day,"  but  walk  in 
the  Van  der  Kable  wood,  where  he  had  seen  the 
count  for  the  first  time,  and  which  he  would  one  day 
inherit.  All  around  him  flew,  and  hovered,  and 
rested,  dreams  from  long  past  centuries  ;  from  flow- 
ers, and  flowery  lands  ;  from  his  home  and  his  child- 
hood. A  little  dream  sat  and  sang  in  the  span-long 
garden  of  his  childhood's  Christmas  night,  that  the 
man  had  drawn  after  him,  with  a  thread  upon  four 
small  wheels  through  life.  Behold,  there  moved  from 
heaven  itself,  an  enchanter's  wand  over  the  whole 
landscape,  and  it  was  filled  with  castles,  and  country- 
houses,  and  woods,  and  changed  into  a  flower-covered 
Provence  of  the  middle  ages.  In  the  distance,  he  saw 
approaching  the  Provencials  from  olive-groves.  They 
sang  cheerful  songs  in  the  free  air.  The  gay  youths, 
full  of  joy  and  love,  gathered,  with  stringed  instru- 
ments, in  the  valleys,  and  before  the  high  castles,  on 
distant  mountain-sides.  Beautiful  maidens  looked 
from  the  narrow  windows  down  upon  the  knightly 
youth.  They  were  allured  to  the  pavilions,  placed 
on  the  green  meadows,  to  exchange  some  words  with 
the  Provencials  ;  for  in  that  age  and  country,  the 
earth  was  a  paradise  for  the  art  of  poetry  ;  and 
troubadours  and  contours  dared  to  love  ladies  of  the 
highest  rank  ;  and  there  was  an  eternal  spring  upon 
earth  and  in  heaven  ;  and  life,  a  long  dance  through 
flowers. 

VOL.  ir.  2 


18 


WALT  AND  YULT, 


"  Sweet  valleys  of  joy  behind  the  mountains," 
sang  Walt ;  "  oh  might  I  pass  over  into  that  blushing 
mornincr  of  life,  where  love  desires  nothing  but  a 
virgin  and  a  poet :  and  there,  wandering  in  the  spring 
air,  whh  only  a  lute  in  my  hand,  could  I  sing  of  se- 
cret love  around  thy  pavilions,  Wina,  and  cease 
when  thou  passed  by." 

Walt  came  back  to  his  little  chamber,  but  with  his 
geographical  and  historical  Provence  in  his  head,  he 
found  so  little  room  there,  that  he  had  the  boldness 
(poetry  had  made  him  equal  and  free)  to  go  down 
into  Xewpeter's  park,  where,  after  a  few  steps,  he 
met  Flora  loaded  like  Pomona,  with  fruit,  and  gave 
her  his  hand.  To  the  poet,  the  whole  world  is  bright ; 
but  a  ducal,  or  royal  crown,  is,  in  his  eyes,  dimmer 
than  a  beautiful  female  head,  under  any  covering,  or 
only  with  the  free  heaven  above  it.  The  poet  is 
modest  when  he  gives  his  hand  to  a  princess,  sincere 
when  he  offers  it  to  a  shepherd's  daughter,  but  to  the 
father  of  either  he  will  not  often  bend. 

*  *  *  * 

Walt  brought  much  of  his  morning's  joy  to  the 
dinner-table.  There,  to  his  astonishment,  he  heard, 
although  he  had  long  since  known  it,  that  on  the 
Jews'  vigil,  that  is,  on  Friday  evening,  the  Catholics 
also  fast :  he  laid  his  knife  and  fork  down.  No 
morsel,  had  it  been  cut  from  the  government  ox, 
roasted  in  Frankfort  for  the  emperor's  coronation, 
would  he  touch.    "  I  will  not  feast  luxuriously,"  (it 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


19 


was  old  cow's  beef  that  was  placed  before  him,)  he 
thought,  "  in  the  hour  when  a  generous  soul  like 
Wina  must  fast." 

With  the  utmost  indifference  to  his  own  necessities 
of  appetite,  he  had  always  the  greatest  pity  for  those 
who  could  not  eat.  He  thought  it  was  cruel  in  the 
church  to  allow  nuns,  as  well  as  monks,  to  fast.  It 
was,  perhaps,  enough,  he  thought,  if  villains,  gam- 
blers, murderers,  were  required  to  fast. 

At  the  copying  hour  Walt  went  to  the  general's, 
not  only  with  the  warmest  wish  to  see  her,  who  on 
this  day  had  been  a  martyr,  but  also  with  the  cer- 
tainty, that  she  had  returned  from  Elterlein  and 
would  appear.  While,  with  inexpressible  satisfaction, 
he  was  writing  out  fairly,  an  extremely  bold  letter  of 
a  certain  Lihette  that  could  have  come  only  from 
that  sty  of  Epicurus,  Paris  ;  for  he,  in  his  uncon- 
sciousness, tasted  only  in  this  joy-cup  the  holy  water 
of  spiritual  love,  there  came  no  sound  through  the 
half-open  door  of  the  cabinet,  that  did  not  tremblingly 
announce  an  approaching  apparition.  As  in  thick, 
extensive  forests,  distant  continued  tones  echo  here 
and  there,  exciting  romantic  hopes,  thus  came  to  his 
ear  a  simple  accord  upon  the  piano.  The  general 
called.  Wina  answered.  At  last  he  really  heard 
Wina  herself  in  the  adjoining  room,  speaking  of 
music  to  her  father.  The  crimson  rushed  to  his 
brow,  and  he  bent  his  head  till  it  touched  the  feather 
of  his  pen.  She  had  that  deep,  heart-touching  voice, 
coming  more  from  the  soul  than  the  throat,  that  in 


20 


WALT  AND  VULT. 


women,  and  in  the  Swiss  peasants,  is  more  frequent 
than  in  others. 

The  general  entered  the  cabinet,  but  the  excited 
Walt  continued  to  write  with  the  utmost  eagerness  ; 
and,  although  Wina  entered  to  seek  some  musical 
notes,  from  delicacy  and  embarrassment  he  could 
not  raise  his  eyes,  and  saw  only  her  white  dress  as 
she  left  the  room.  Soon  after,  her  voice  was  again 
heard  in  the  next  room.  "  Oh  no,  not  that,"  cried 
the  general,  "  I  meant,  the  last  wish  of  Reichard."  * 

She  ceased,  and  immediately  began  the  song  de- 
sired by  her  father.  "  S'mg,"  he  again  interrupted, 
"  only  the  first  and  the  last,  without  the  tiresome 
verses." 

She  held  in,  with  her  fingers  hovering  ov^r  the 
keys,  and  answered,  "  Yes,  father."  Again  she 
began ;  her  sweet  speaking  voice  melting  into  sweeter 
singing  tones,  as  though  it  had  changed  into  the  notes 
of  nightingales,  or  softly  repeated  echoes  ;  as  though 
she  wished  to  pour  her  love-warm  heart,  like  a  mu- 
sical sigh,  into  everv*  key. 

Oh  I  destiny, ^at  last 
My  latest  wish  accord  ; 
A  little  field,  a  lowly  cot, 
A  small,  but  my  own  herd. 
A  friend,  well  tried  and  wise, 
Freedom  from  noise  and  strife  ; 
And  thou  !  I  softly  sigh 
Companion  of  my  life. 


*  A  celebrated  composer  of  music. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


21 


Oft  have  I  wished  in  vain, 
Deny  not  thou  the  last, 
The  evening  of  my  life 
In  peaceful  joy  to  pass. 
Sweet  leisure  in  my  home, 
With  honor,  faith,  and  love. 
The  sole  reward  of  truth, 
A  violet  on  my  grave  ! 

These  long-dreamed  sounds  from  the  soul,  dreamed, 
but  never  heard  before  with  such  splendor,  came  over 
Walt,  billowing  like  the  waves  of  the  sea,  which  he 
had  seen  from  a  distance,  but  now  overtook  and  over- 
whelmed him  with  a  flood  of  music. 

The  general,  during  the  singing,  looked  at  the 
copy  of  the  last  piquant  letter  of  Libette,  and,  with 
a  peculiar  expression  in  his  countenance,  said,  "  How 
then  pleases  you  that  —  the  wild  Libette  ?  "  "  Oh, 
so  true!  so  heartful !  ***so  deeply  felt!"  said  Walt, 
thinking  only  of  the  song.  "  I  think  so,  also,"  said 
the  general,  with  an  ironical  sort  of  enthusiasm, 
which  Walt  took  for  a  commentary  upon  the 
music. 

"  What  has  been  your  most  important  notary-busi- 
ness hitherto  ?  "  asked  the  general.  Walt  answered, 
rather  shortly,  and  with  a  little  displeasure,  that  he 
had  divided  his  attention,  as  his  hours,  between 
poetry  and  prose  !  He  made  use  of  as  little  intel- 
lectual power  and  as  few  words  as  possible  in  his 
answer,  not  knowing  that  to  please  Zablocki,  a  man, 
whether  from  Witzlau  or  Ratisbon,  or  from  any 


22 


WALT   AND  VULT, 


Other  region  of  ennui,  could  never  be  too  diffuse  or 
too  long  in  his  answers  ;  but  only  too  abrupt. 

"  I  believe,"  continued  Zablocki,  "  you  have  done 
some  business  for  the  Count  Klothar." 

"  Not  a  line,"  answered  Walt,  too  hastily ;  for  he 
was  entranced  by  the  beautiful  tones,  and  could  not 
understand  how  the  general,  who  had  demanded  these 
heavenly  sounds,  could  prefer  his  own.  The  general 
said  he  was  so  accustomed  to  this  music,  that  it 
passed  over  him  without  impression. 

"  Oh  God,"  thought  Walt,  "  how  can  it  be,  that  a 
man  is  not  wholly  overwhelmed  in  this  stream  of 
harmony  ?  And  is  it  possible  !  a  widowed  and  almost 
childless  father  !  "  Walt  believed,  indeed,  that  a  man 
Vvho  had  parted  with  his  wife  and  his  youth,  would 
listen  to  such  lines,  as  to  the  echo  of  his  own  expe- 
rience, the  complaint  of  his  own  soul.  For  Mm  it 
was  a  deeper  and  purer  emotion  to  listen  to  the  lan- 
guage of  music  upon  the  wishes  and  sorrows  of 
others,  than  when  it  drew  his  thoughts  to  himself ; 
and,  therefore,  the  insensibility  of  Zablocki  displeased 
him  so  much  the  more. 

"  Not  a  line,"  Walt  had  answered,  rather  hastily, 
to  the  question  of  the  general.  "  How  so  ?  "  asked 
Zablocki ;  "  my  man  of  business  told  me  just  the 
contrary.  At  this  moment  Walt's  tears  started  forth. 
He  could  not  help  it.  The  last  line  of  the  song,  with 
uncontrollable  emotion,  had  wholly  overpowered  him  ; 
and  shame,  at  the  involuntary  deception,  had  nothing 
to  do  with  it.    "  Indeed,"  he  said,  "  I  meant  even 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


23 


so  ;  for  the  donation  act  was  interrupted.  I  wrote 
the  first  line  of  course  —  " 

The  general,  ascribing  his  confusion  and  his  agi- 
tated countenance,  not  to  the  beautiful  voice  of  the 
singer,  but  to  his  own,  interrupted  him  good  humor- 
edly  with  words  of  dismissal  —  that  he  would  sus- 
pend the  copying  for  some  weeks,  as  in  the  morning 
he  should  journey  to  Leipsic  with  his  daughter,  for 
the  approaching  fair.  ^ 

At  this  moment  the  singing  ceased,  and  with  it 
Walt's  brief  enchantment. 

No.  35.  Chrysopras^  a  finer  stone  than  the  Chry- 
salis. 


24 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


CHAPTER  IV. 

DREAMS   FROM  DREAMS. 

When  Walt  found  himself  in  the  open  street,  after 
leaving  the  Zablocki  cabinet,  it  was  as  if  he  had 
lost  something,  or  a  whole  Christmas  tree  had  sud- 
denly become  dark,  or  that  he  had  fallen  to  the  earth 
from  a  ladder  leading  to  the  sun.  Suddenly  he  saw 
the  Soubrette  of  the  general's  family,  and  before  her 
Wina,  just  entering  the  Catholic  church.  Without 
farther  consideration,  he  made  it  his  own,  and  en- 
tered immediately  after  the  nun,  to  hear  her  sing 
again  the  line  which  had  been  singing  in  his  inward 
ear  all  through  the  street. 

In  the  temple,  he  found  her  kneeling  and  bent  low 
before  the  high  altar,  her  unadorned  head  sunk  in 
inward  prayer,  and  her  white  dress  flowing  upon  the 
steps  of  the  altar.  The  officiating  priests  in  a  strange 
dress,  made,  during  the  service,  to  him,  mysteriQus 
motions  —  the  lights  upon  the  altar  emulated  the  sac- 
rificial fire  —  a  cloud  of  incense  hung  around  the 
arches  of  the  windows,  and  the  setting  sun,  glowing 
through  the  rich-colored  upper  panes,  was  reflected 
in  various  lights  upon  the  cloud  of  incense.  Beneath, 
in  the  temple,  it  was  night.    Walt,  the  Lutheran,  to 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


25 


whom  a  maiden,  praying  at  an  altar,  was  a  new  and 
heavenly  sight,  was,  as  he  stood  behind  her,  rapt  in 
devotion  and  love.  Had  the  Holy  Virgin  herself,  as 
she  stood  above  the  altar,  ready  to  ascend  to  heaven, 
come  down  to  pray  once  more  upon  the  steps  of  that 
altar,  she  could  not  have  been  to  him  so  sacredly 
beautiful,  as  the  maiden  kneeling  there.  He  felt  it 
would  be  a  sin  to  go  five  steps  farther,  so  that  he 
could  look  in  the  innocent  face  of  the  praying  saint, 
although  those  five  steps  had  brought  him  five  golden 
rounds  higher  on  the  ladder  to  heaven.  At  length  his 
conscience  urged  him,  Protestant  although  in  his  con- 
victions he  was,  standing  thus,  behind  this  silent  inter- 
cessor, to  think  of  praying  himself.  His  hands  had 
long  been  folded,  although  not  in  devotion,  before 
he  could  think  of  anj^thing  for  which  he  should 
pray. 

It  may  be  believed,  in  the  world  behind  the  stars, 
where  they  must  certainly  have  their  own  peculiar 
notions  upon  devotion,  that  even  the  involuntary 
folding  of  the  hands  may  be  valued  as  a  prayer; 
and  many  warm  hand-pressures  and  lip-pressures, 
yes,  many  curses  even,  may  be  there  received  as 
ejaculatory  prayers  ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  the 
great  church-illuminating  prayers,  that  are  prepared 
for  the  press,  without  self-reference,  merely  for  occa- 
sions foreign  to  the  heart,  or  worked  out  in  manu- 
script with  a  purpose  to  preserve  a  manly  pulpit  elo- 
quence, may  be  there  received  as  mere  curses  ! 

Walt  remained  until  Wina  arose,  and  passed  near. 


26 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


SO  that  he  might  look  at  her.  Ho  could  not  after- 
wards understand,  that  when  she  was  nearest  to  him, 
why  he  involuntarily  and  almost  convulsively  closed 
his  eyes  ;  "  and  what  did  it  help  me,"  he  said,  "  that 
I  followed  after  her  through  three  streets  ?  " 

He  hastened  out  of  the  city.  It  seemed  to  him, 
that  two  opposite  moving  storms  held  a  rose  in  the 
midst,  wavering  between  them.  A  long  reflection  of 
the  evening  glow  upon  the  mountains,  like  an  aurora 
borealis  in  the  sky,  made  it  light  upon  the  earth. 
Walt  endeavored,  according  to  his  old  custom,  when 
under  great  excitement,  that  is,  when  he  had  seen 
a  great  author  or  artist,  and  was  thrown  upon  the 
tight-rope  of  his  imagination,  to  draw  near  to  them, 
and  to  calm  himself,  by  dreaming  out  an  extreme 
exaggeration  of  the  circumstances,  infinitely  beyond 
the  reality.  He  therefore  ventured  to  indulge  the 
most  splendid  and  exaggerated  dream  about  himself 
and  Wina.    The  dream  follows. 

"  Wina  is  the  daughter  of  a  pastor  in  Elterlein. 
I  accidentally  journey  through  the  village  with  my 
suite.  I  am,  of  course,  a  Marquis  or  a  Grand  Duke. 
The  heir-apparent;  young  —  as  young  as  I  am  my- 
self —  and  splendidly  formed  !  Very  tall,  with  heav- 
enly eyes  !  I  am,  perhaps,  the  most  beautiful  youth 
in  my  country  ;  indeed,  like  Count  Klothar.  She 
sees  me  from  the  parsonage,  riding  quickly  past  upon 
my  Arab.  A  God  from  heaven  kindled  in  her  poor 
but  tender  heart,  as  she  saw  the  prince  arrive,  the 
deep  and  inextinguishable  flame  of  love. 


OR  THE  TWI^S. 


27 


I  ascend  the  neighboring  Himmelsberg,  where  I 
am  assured  there  is  the  most  beautiful  prcspect  of 
the  surrounding  villages.  The  sun  has  not  yet  gone 
down.  Upon  the  burnished  mountains  of  the  earth 
rest  the  golden  clouds  of  heaven.  Ah,  only  the 
happy  sun  may  venture  behind  the  blessed  moun- 
tains that  enclose  the  old,  ever  desired,  rose-colored 
paradise  ;  the  love-valley  of  the  heart.  But  I  long, 
bitterly,  to  pass  over  into  it,  for  as  a  prince  I  have 
not  dared  to  love  ;  and  now  I  dream,  that  I  may  love 
as  a  man.  I  hear  the  notes  of  a  nightingale  as  love- 
warm  as  if  it  drew  its  tones  from  my  own  breast. 
It  sits  upon  the  shoulder  of  the  pastor's  daughter, 
who,  without  knowing  I  was  there,  had  come  up  to 
look  at  the  evening  sun-set.  She  weeps,  she  knows 
not  why,  but  ascribes  her  emotion  to  the  tones  of  her 
nightingale.  I  see  a  being  such  as  I  have  never  seen, 
except  at  the  concert  —  even  Wina  —  a  human 
flower  that  has  expanded,  unconscious  of  its  beauty, 
and  whose  petals  are  opened  and  closed  by  heaven 
alone.  The  evening  glow,  the  sun,  the  purple  clouds 
hover  towards  her,  for  she  is  love  itself,  and  draws 
all  of  life  and  love  around  her.  The  turtle-dove 
approaches  her  feet,  and  its  wings  tremble  with  joy  ; 
the  nightingales  flutter  from  their  coverts,  in  the 
hedges,  and  fly  around  the  singing  one.  Now  she 
turns  her  blue  eyes  from  the  sun,  and  they  fall  upon 
me.  She  trembles.  I  also  tremble,  but  with  joy, 
and  go  towards  her.  We  are  equal  in  nothing,  ex- 
cept beauty,  for  my  love  is  far  warmer  than  hers. 


28 


WALT  AND  YULT, 


She  bows  her  head  and  weeps.  Ah,  no  !  It  cannot 
be  my  high  rank  alone  that  so  agitates  her!  What 
to  me  are  the  possession  of  the  throne  or  the  crowns 
of  princes  ?  1  cast  them  all  away  for  love  alone  ! 
'  Although  you  may  not  know  me,  maiden,'  I  say, 
*  yet  love  me  ! ' 

"  She  does  not  answer,  but  the  nightingale  that  had 
rested  upon  her  shoulder  flies  from  her's  to  mine,  and 
sings.  Behold !  I  say,  and  am  reverently  silent  before 
this  indication  of  destiny.  At  last  I  take  her  hand, 
and  with  both  my  own  press  it  upon  my  heart.  She 
tries  to  withdraw  her  hand,  but  I  whisper,  '  how  art 
thou  called  beautiful,  maiden  ? '  Softly,  so  that  I 
can  scarcely  hear,  she  answers,  Wina.  The  word 
trembles  through  my  whole  frame,  as  a  sound  re- 
membered from  my  infancy.  Wina,  signifies  con- 
queror, I  answer,  and  I  imagine  I  feel  a  gentle  pres- 
sure of  her  hand.  Love  has  raised  her  above  the 
pastor's  or  the  prince's  rank.  Meantime  the  night- 
ingales surround  us  ;  the  blushing  evening  clouds  go 
down ;  the  smiling  evening  star  goes  down.  The 
star-gemmed  sky  draws  its  silver  veil  around  us  ; 
we  have  the  stars  in  our  hands,  upon  our  hearts :  we 
are  silent,  and  love  !  We  hear  a  distant  flute  behind 
the  Himmclsberg,  that  expresses  what  we  feel,  but 
cannot  say.  —  It  is  my  brother's  flute,  I  answer,  and 
in  the  village  —  my  parents  dwell  " 

Here  Walt  came  to  himself.  He  looked  around, 
he  was  standing  by  the  side  of  a  river,  into  which  his 
prince's  throne  sank  down,  and  the  wind  took  away 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


29 


the  light  crown  from  his  head.  "  It  would  have  been 
too  much  for  a  human  dream,"  he  said,  "  to  have 
kissed  her,"  and  went  home.  On  his  way  home  he 
considered  the  morality  of  such  a  dream,  and  held 
it  piece  by  piece  on  the  touchstone  of  truth,  so  that 
•  he  had  it  over  again,  in  a  different  manner.  Thus 
the  innocent  soul,  swimming  with  fear  and  anxiety, 
holds  fast  by  every  twig  that  swims  also  with  him  ; 
and  first-love,  the  most  unintelligible  and  unreason- 
able, is  yet  the  purest  and  holiest.  Its  bandage  is 
indeed  thick  and  broad,  for  it  goes  over  eyes,  ears, 
and  mouth  at  the  same  time  ;  but  its  pinions  are 
longer  and  whiter  than  those  of  any  other  love. 

At  Newpeter's  house,  and  under  his  own  window, 
his  cell  appeared  to  him  strangely  unknown ;  he  was 
scarcely  himself ;  and,  as  he  looked  up,  it  seemed  to 
him,  that  the  notary  above  must  every  minute  look 
down  upon  him.  Suddenly  he  heard  from  his  win- 
dow the  sound  of  a  flute,  and  he  immediately  knew 
his  brother  was  waiting  above  for  him.  The  fire  in 
his  heart,  upon  which  Wina  had  poured  a  pure  and 
mild  oil,  was  instantly  smothered. 

Vult  was  entirely  amiable  and  friendly.  In  Walt's 
absence,  he  had  seen  and  read  in  the  double-romance 
the  new  piece  of  garden-ground  that  Walt  had  there 
laid  out  and  walled  around  ;  and  had  there  found  that 
the  green  hanging-bridge,  that  led  away  from  the 
Hercules  temple  of  friendship,  was  beautifully  and 
artistically  built;  but  the  moss  and  bark  covered  her- 
mitage of  first-love,  thinking  itself  unknown,  was 


30 


WALT  AND  VTLT, 


overgrown  w  ith  the  timid,  humble  plants,  that  flourish 
Qnly  in  darkness  and  solitude  ;  so  that  now  nothing 
was  wanting  but  the  little  singing  bird-house.  The 
satyrs  and  other  garden  diviuuies,  Yult,  from  his 
position,  could  designate  and  place  in  view.  He 
praised  the  passage  most  warmly,  although  Walt  was 
to-day  made  more  melancholy,  than  happy,  by  his 
praises. 

*•  Brother,"  Vult  said,  "  did  I  not  know  you  and 
the  power  of  art  so  well,  I  should  swear  that  you  had 
been  standing  upon  the  isolated,  electrical  pedestal 
of  first  love,  and  had  received  the  shock,  so  beauti- 
fully and  true  do  the  sparks  tell  upon  thee."  For  Vult 
had  hitherto,  notwithstanding,  or  rather  on  account  of 
the  open-heartedness  of  his  brother,  not  remarked  the 
forget-me-not  of  love  among  the  other  exquisite  flow- 
ers with  which  that  heart  was  sown ;  and  because  Vult 
himself,  at  this  period,  thought  little  of  the  influence 
of  women.  His  sullen  spirit,  he  said,  repelled  hira 
from  women.  He  also  maintained,  that  the  varnished 
stafl*  that  was  often  placed  in  the  earth  to  support 
feeble  female  plants,  should  be  a  Roman  column, 
whose  capital  tlie  flowers  themselves  should  crown. 

Walt  was  much  astonished,  for  in  writing  his  ro- 
mance he  had  been  merely  the  poet  —  namely,  the 
tranquil  sea,  in  which  all  the  tumult  of  earthly  strife, 
and  the  harmonies  of  heaven,  had  been  merely  re- 
flected ;  —  astonished  that  Vult  should  suspect,  from 
the  look,  that,  perhaps,  he  loved  !  He  believed  the 
travelled  flutist,  but  said  not  a  word  of  himself,  and 
was  secretly  glad  that  he  could  feel  as  he  wrote. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


31 


When  the  brothers,  according  to  their  usual  cus- 
tom, were  mutually  to  confide  the  history  of  theis 
day  to  each  other,  Walt's  dropped  with  great  difficulty 
and  hesitation  from  his  tongue.  He  dwelt  more  upon 
the  general  and  his  memoir  es  crotiqiies,  he  even  praised 
the  pure  spiritual  flowers  in  these  letters.  Vult 
laughed  aloud,  and  said,  "  You  are  a  damned  good 
soul,  brother!"  Love,  that  opens  the  whole  heart 
when  he  gives  it  away,  yet  closes,  and  holds  fast  a 
little  corner  where  he  nestles  himself,  and  dictates  to 
the  most  conscientious  youth  his  first  lie,  as  to  the 
purest  maiden,  her  first,  and  her  last ! 

Walt,  full  of  the  inward  emotion  that  made  him 
inexpressibly  happy,  followed  his  brother  home. 
Vult,  happy  also,  returned  with  him.  .Walt  went 
back  again  that  he  might  return  by  the  heavenly  path 
that  led  under  Wina's  window.  This  they  passed 
and  repassed,  till  Walt  was  left  master  of  the  field. 

Alone,  under  the  broad  star-lighted  heaven,  his 
soul  could  expand  and  cool  its  fever.  "  Can  I  then 
indeed,"  he  said,  "  live  truly,  and  in  reality,  the  ro- 
mantic life  I  have  so  often  loved  ?  Ah,  yes  !  I  will 
break  the  frozen  chrysalis  of  the  winter  butterfly,  and 
expand  in  joyous  upward  spirals.  I  will  love  as  never 
man  loved  before,  even  to  agony  and  death,  for  I 
know  well  she  can  never  love  me,  and  I  cannot 
throw  a  shade  of  injury  upon  her;  that  her  rank 
forbids.  She  is  also  now  absent  for  a  month.  Yes, 
this  unknown  heart !  it  is  to  her  wholly,  solely, 
devoted !    Like  to  the  subterranean  Gods,  I  will 


3-2 


WALT  A^"D  VULT, 


secretly  and  silently  sacrifice,  to  her  alone.  Ah, 
•ould  I  pluck  these  stars  from  their  spheres  to  form 
a  jewelled  crown  for  her  brow,  I  would  bind  it  with 
the  tender  lilies  of  earth,  and  in  her  blissful  sleep  I 
would  place  it  on  her  pillow,  and  should  no  mortal 
ask  who  had  laid  it  there,  I  were  blest  enough ! 

He  went  again  down  the  street  to  Zablocki's  house. 
All  the  lights  were  extinguished.  A  dark  cloud  hung 
OYer  the  roof — he  would  have  torn  it  down.  All 
was  so  still,  that  he  heard  the  ticking  of  the  clock. 
The  moon  sent  a  strange  and  unusual  day  into  the 
windows  of  the  third  story.  "  Oh!  were  I  a  star," 
he  sang  within  his  heart,  "  I  would  shine  upon  thee  ; 
were  I  a  rose,  I  would  bloom  for  thee  ;  were  I  a 
sound,  I  would  press  into  thy  ear  and  thy  heart ; 
were  I  love,  the  happiest  love,  I  would  dwell  therein. 
Ah!  were  I  only  a  dream,  I  would  visit  thee  in  slum- 
ber, and  be  the  star  and  the  rose,  and  love  itself,  and 
vanish  only  when  you  awoke."- 

He  went  home  to  his  first  sleep,  and  hoped  he 
mio^ht  dream  that  this  dream  was  not  a  dream,  but  a 
reality. 


No.  36.    Ä  Bit  alte  shell. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


33 


CHAPTER  V. 

A  NEW  WILL. 

The  month  of  September,  into  which  Wina,  that 
exquisite  rose,  had  been  transplanted,  was  so  beauti- 
ful, that  to  Walt,  coat,  chamber  and  city  had  become 
too  narrow.  Fie  must  go  out  into  the  wide  world. 
Travelling  was  always  to  him  an  inexpressible  satis- 
faction, especially  if  he  journeyed  in  unknown  places  ; 
for  upon  the  way  he  always  flattered  himself  that  it 
was  possible  he  might  meet  with  one  of  those  delight- 
fully romantic  adventures,  of  which  he  yet  sometimes 
read.  The  high  road,  that  as  a  river  ornamented  the 
landscape,  and  in  its  infinite  windings,  now  here,  now 
there,  took  his  imagination  with  it,  was  it  not  an  in- 
finite delight  to  him,  for  it  reflected  the  whole  of 
life  ?  And  upon  that  road,  he  thought,  passes  at  this 
moment  the  silent  Wina,  and  looks  at  the  blue 
heavens  and  at  her  father,  and  thinks  of  many 
things. 

Walt  hesitated  long  in  great  uncertainty,  whether 
it  would  not  be  wrong  to  take  the  little  money  he  had 
gained  in  his  notary  business,  from  his  parents, 
merely  for  his  own  satisfaction  in  travelling ;  while 
his  brother  Vult  also,  according  to  his  usual  custom. 


VOL.  II. 


3 


34 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


was  beginning  to  suffer  from  a  light  purse.  He  was 
obliged  to  go  over  again  all  his  conscientious  rules 
upon  pure  intentions,  to  decide  whether  he  could 
admit  this  sweet-toned  variation,  or  these  five  ad- 
vancing steps  of  praise,  in  the  music  of  his  church 
anthem.  But  Flitt  decided  all  by  sending  from  the 
city  tov.'er,  where  he  dwelt,  a  summons,  to  tell  him 
he  was  lying  on  his  death-bed,  and  wished,  through 
the  agency  of  the  notary,  to  make  his  will  that  very 
evening. 

If  the  reader  would  ascend  the  tower,  behind  the 
notary,  where  the  Alsatian  lay  on  his  death-bed,  I 
must  go  before  to  place  the  necessary  steps  that 
brought  him  to  this  situation.  It  was  thus.  Fortune 
is  as  inconstant  to  its  friends,  as  they  are  to  their 
favorites.  Nature  gives  the  philosopher,  on  life's 
journey,  too  little  money.  Flitt  was  such  a  phi- 
losopher, and  although  he  had  long  practised  the  rule 
that  the  end  of  money,  like  the  limits  of  a  park, 
should  be  carefully  concealed,  yet  the  common 
nervus  rerum  gcrendarum  failed  him  for  this  cunning. 
When  he  merely  passed  through  a  city,  he  managed 
it  easily,  for  he  dressed  himself  richly  and  came  as  a 
servant,  only  to  announce  his  Lord ;  then,  after  a 
while,  he  would  come  without  the  servant. 

In  Haslau  it  did  him  good  service  for  a  whole 
month,  that  at  his  own  expense,  he  would  let  them 
drain  a  pond,  and  dig  and  grub  therein  to  find  a  valu- 
able diamond  that  he  said  he  had  lost !  But  hunger, 
that  he,  as  well  as  Philip  II.,  called  the  noon-day 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


35 


devil,  and  yet  more,  the  tailor's  imps  had  drawn 
upon  him  by  degrees  an  ever  increasing  train  of 
lackeys,  or  valets  de  fantaisie^  who  always  followed 
in  his  service,  under  the  well  known  name  of  credit- 
ors. These  true  Moors  of  the  palace,  came  without 
being  summoned  ;  for  like  Mephistopheles,  when  not 
called,  they  will  come  of  themselves.  On  this  ac- 
count he  withdrew  to  the  clock  tower,  his  true 
Schuldthurm,*  where,  through  its  numberless  steps, 
he  could  elude  some  visitors,  or  prepare  for  others, 
as  he  saw  them  approaching.  In  the  city  he  swore 
he  had  gone  there  to  enjoy  a,  free  prospect. 

Among  his  creditors  was  a  young  physician,  named 
Hut,  who  magnified  himself,  but  had  few  patients.t 
The  gallant  Flitt  made  the  following  proposal  to  this 
creditor  :  the  city,  he  said,  was  full  of  prejudices ;  he 
himself  was  involved  in  light  debts ;  he  would  pre- 
tend to  be  sick  unto  death,  and  make  his  will,  if  the 
doctor  would  undertake  publicly  to  reestablish  his 
health,  and  thus,  by  an  innocent  deception,  heal  the 
city  of  its  self-deception.  Secondly,  by  willing  his 
estate  to  the  court  agent,  Newpeter,  he  should  win 
the  father's  consent  to  his  marriage,  with  the  already 
long-won  daughter,  and  could  he  marry,  he  would 
easily  pay  the  doctor.  After  some  little  delay  the 
doctor  consented  to  the  project. 


*  A  prison  for  debtors. 

t  Here  follow  some  satirical  remarks  upon  local  medical  prac- 
tice, which  I  have  omitted.  — -  Zr. 


36 


WALT   AND  VULT, 


Al  tiie  end  of  a  few  cays,  the  Alsatian  was  deadly 
sick :  ate  and  drank  no  more,  except  in  rare  solitary 
momeois ;  took  the  sacrament,  which  he  thought  he 
and  others  should  do  in  healthy  days,  and  finally  sent 
for  the  noiarj^  in  the  night  to  draw  and  establish  his 
last  will. 

Walt  was  shocked.  He  had  loved  Fliti's  gay  and 
blooming  youth,  and  pitied  its  defeat.  Heavily  and 
sadly  he  mounted  the  long,  dark  steps  that  led  to  him. 
The  clock  struck  eleven,  and  it  sounded  to  him  as 
though  the  death  angel  had  moved  the  pendulum. 
Faint,  and  silent,  and  painted  (although  white)  lay  the 
Alsatian,  in  the  midst  of  tlie  seven  witnesses  to  the 
\^-ill,  among  whom  was  the  morning  preacher,  Flachs, 
who,  in  spite  of  his  long  pale  face,  had  never  become 
vesper  preacher. 

^Valt,  full  of  pity,  took  silently  with  his  right  hand 
the  hand  of  the  patient,  and  with  his  left  drew  his 
seal  from  his  pocket,  while  with  his  eye,  he  numbered 
the  witnesses  present.  He  asked  for  three  lights,  as 
the  promptuarium  juris  demanded  that  number  for  a 
night  testament,  but  was  obliged  to  be  satisfied  with 
one  only- — miserable  enough.*  As  upon  the  whole 
tower  no  second  ?Fas  to  be  found,  much  less  a  third, 
and  Walt,  having  too  much  compassion  to  send  a  man 
to  the  bottom  of  the  tower,  in  the  middle  of  the  night,* 


^  It  inusi  be  recollected,  that  for  the  «mallest  deriation.  from 
esiaLiished  customs,  as  well  as  for  the  slightest  errors  in  his 
notary  office,  Walt  forfeited  a  part  of  the  inheritance. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


37 


to  demand  a  light,  he  was  obliged  to  proceed  without 
the  requisite  number. 

The  sick  man  began  to  dictate  the  first  legacy ; 
according  to  which,  the  merchant,  Newpeter,  should 
receive  the  whole  of  Flitt's  dividend  upon  the  long- 
expected  West  India  ship,  also  a  jewel  casket  sealed 
with  the  initials  O.  U.  F.,  that  was  deposited  with  the 
brothers  Heiligenbeil  in  Bremen.  It  was  apparent 
that  Flitt,  although  half  dead,  could  yet  dictate  in  the 
most  exact  and  accurate  manner.  But  Walt  was 
obliged  to  pause  and  ask  for  a  spoonful  of  water,  to 
make  some  liquid  ink  from  the  dry  ink  powder,  in 
which  he  dipped  his  pen.  When  it  was  prepared,  he 
found,  very  unwillingly,  that  the  new  was  of  a  wholly 
different  color  from  the  old,  and  that  if  he  would  go 
on,  he  must  violate  the  notary  ordinance,  which  for- 
bids an  instrument  to  be  written  with  two  kinds  of 
ink.  He  could  not  persuade  himself,  in  his  deep 
compassion  for  Flitt,  to  tear  the  leaf  and  begin 
anew. 

Secondly.  Flitt  willed  to  the  needy  Flachs,  the 
morning  preacher,  his  silver  spurs,  his  silver-handled 
riding-whip,  and  his  (empty)  coffer  covered  with 
seal-skin.  To  Dr.  Hut  he  made  over  all  that  was 
owing  to  him  in  the  city.  He  was  obliged  to  pause 
to  gain  strength,  then  with  a  weak  voice  he  began 
again.  I  desire  to  leave,  for  the  satisfaction  of  having 
become  acquainted  with  him,  all  that  may  be  found 
after  my  death,  in  ready  money  or  in  bills  of  ex- 
change, to  the  Herr  Notary  Harnish,  and  as  I  fear  it 


38 


WALT  AND  VÜLT, 


may  not  amount,  to  more  than  twenty  Joins  d''ors, 
I  pray  him,  out  of  love  to  me,  to  add  thereto  my 
golden  finger-ring.  Walt  laid  down  the  pen.  He 
blushed  to  receive  such  a  present  from  a  dying  man, 
who  owed  him  nothing.  He  arose  immediately, 
pressed  silently,  with  compassion,  the  hand  of  the 
dying  man,  said  firmly  and  decidedly,  no  !  and  then 
asked  him  to  call  another  physician.     "  To  the 

keeper  of  the  city  tower  "  Flitt  would  have  said, 

but  sank  exhausted  back  upon  his  pillow.  Heering 
sprang  forward,  arranged  the  pillows  and  placed  the 
patient  a  little  upright.  "To  Herr  Heering,"  con- 
tinued Flitt,  "  I  present,  together  with  my  fine  white 
linen,  all  my  clothes,  all,  except  my  riding-boots  that 
I  promised  to  the  maid."  It  struck  twelve,  and 
Heering  should  have  struck  the  quarter,  but  he  would 
not  interrupt  such  solemn  business,  he  said,  by  ham- 
mering on  the  bell,  and  the  testator  continued  

"  and  all  that  remains  from,  the  sale  of  a  richly  jewelled 
snuffbox,  which  will  be  found  in  my  coffer,  after  the 
expenses  of  my  funeral  are  paid." 

After  these  legacies,  came  the  formalities  of  the 
last  will  of  a  man,  which  are  heavier  than  all  the 
heavy  formalities  that  have  gone  before.  The  visibly 
failing  Flitt  insisted  that  Walt  should  immediately 
place  his  notary-seal  upon  all  his  effects.  He  did  it 
promptly. 

It  was  sad  and  bitter  to  Walt  to  bid  farewell  to  the 
poor  pleasure-loving  bird,  who  would  have  left  him 
both  feathers  and  golden  eggs.    Heering  lighted  both 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


39 


him  and  the  witnesses  down  the  stairs.  "I  will 
swear,"  he  said,  "he  does  not  survive  the  night; 
there  are  many  curious  indications ;  but  if  he  really 
gets  over  the  night,  I  will  hang  out  my  handkerchief 
from  the  tower  early  in  the  morning." 

Shuddering  with  cold,  they  descended  the  long 
ladder  through  the  empty,  dark  descent  in  which 
there  was  nothing  but  steps.  The  slow  iron  pen- 
dulum of  the  clock,  that  carried  on  the  decrees  of 
destiny,  swung  here  and  there,  like  the  mowing  of 
the  scythe  of  time.  The  winds  that  came  in  gusts 
against  the  tower ;  the  solitary  and  careful  steps  of 
the  nine  men,  as  they  descended ;  the  strange  light 
of  the  lantern  that  struggled  in  the  upper  darkness 
and  shed  a  sepulchral  light  upon  the  living,  and  the 
expectation  that  Flitt,  at  any  moment,  might  depart, 
and  like  a  pale  ghost,  pass  through  the  church ;  all 
these  haunted  Walt,  like  a  dream,  in  the  land  of 
'shadows  and  terrors,  so  that  he  stepped  from  the 
tower,  like  one  risen  from  the  dead,  and  meeting  eye 
to  eye,  and  life  with  life,  in  the  outward  living  world. 
Flachs,  the  preacher,  living  rather  than  understand- 
ing the  things  belonging  to  death,  said  to  him  as  they 
descended,  "  you  are  lucky  with  testaments  !  "  This 
drew  Walt  from  his  reverie,  in  which  he  was  thinking 
of  that  foolish  carnival  of  life,  where  the  all  too 
earnest  death,  at  last  draws  off  the  mask  and  alters 
the  countenance. 

In  bed  he  prayed  with  deep  emotion  for  the  dying 
youth,  that  some  evening  beams  of  love  and  mercy 


40 


WALT  AND  VULT 


might  penetrate  and  gild  the  night,  whose  clouds 
were  falling  upon  him,  as  at  last  they  must  fall  on 
even*  mortal :  and,  while  he  prayed,  he  pressed  his 
eyes  together,  that  no  accidentally  intrusive  spectre 
might  make  him  shudder. 


Xo.  37.    A  selected  cabinet  crystal. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


41 


CHAPTER  VI. 

RAPHAELA. 

When  Gottwalt  awoke  he  had  at  first  forgotten  all. 
But  when,  from  his  bedroom  window,  he  saw  the 
reflection  of  the  rising  sun,  so  red  upon  the  western 
hills,  his  wish  to  journey  returned  with  new  warmth. 
Then  came  the  objection  of  his  poverty,  and  at  last, 
the  memory  of  the  twenty  louis  d''ors  bequeathed  to 
him  the  evening  before.  This  made  him  turn  his 
eyes  to  the  city  tower,  upon  which,  as  upon  a  Castrum 
doloris,  the  dead  Flitt  might  now  repose. 

Compassionately,  as  he  raised  his  eyes,  his  counte- 
nance was  cheerful.  This  romantic  journey,  so  sud- 
denly made  possible,  appeared  to  invite  him  to  a 
passage  through  the  transparent  sun  of  fortune,  v/here 
the  dust  would  be  sparkles  of  light  that  would  cover 
him  with  diamonds.  Displeased  with  himself,  that 
he  could  not  be  melancholy,  he  left  his  bed  without 
prayer,  and  examined  his  heart  again.  But  he  might 
quarrel  with  himself  as  long  as  he  pleased,  and  his 
fancy  might  represent  the  pale  young  corpse  lying  in 
the  church  tower,  whose  closed  eyes  would  never 

again  open  with  the  morning  sun   It  was  of  no 

use.  The  journey  and  the  travelling  money  retained 


42 


WALT  AND  VULT 


in  his  eyes  all  its  splendor,  and  his  heart  looked 
willingly  only  at  that.  At  length  he  asked  himself 
whetlier  he  was  indeed  the  living  devil  that  he  seem- 
ed^  to  be  willing  to  take  advantage  of  Flitt's  gene- 
rosity, and  that  if  he  were  even  now  living,  something 
could  not  be  done  immediately  to  save  him  ?  And 
he  remembered  the  promise  of  the  warden,  that  if 
the  young  man  died  in  the  night,  a  whhe  handkerchief 
should  be  huns  out  as  a  mouminor  flaor.  He  looked 
and  found  none  there,  and  as  he  could  trace  some 
little  joy  in  himself  on  this  account,  he  absolved  his 
poor  heart  from  utter  selfishness,  and  was  almost 
angry  for  having  so  severely  questioned,  and  without 
any  necessity,  that  honorable  villain. 

He  saw  now,  indeed,  a  white  handkerchief,  not  on 
the  tower,  but  borne  by  Raphaela,  who  wandered 
with  apparent  melancholy  in  the  park  below,  and  to 
whom  the  fashionable  absence  of  pockets  afforded 
the  good  fortune  to  display  this  alluring  sign  of  feel- 
ing, this  flag  for  the  imagination,  in  her  hand.  She 
looked  often  at  the  tower,  occasionally  up  at  his 
window,  and  seemed  to  give  him  a  melancholy  greet- 
ing. It  seemed  also,  though  he  could  scarcely  believe 
it,  that  she  signed  to  him  to  come  down,  for  he  had 
read  in  English  romances  only,  the  extent  of  female 
tenderness.  While  he  deliberated,  Flora  came  and 
asked  him  to  descend.  I  can  easily  imagine,"  he 
said  upon  the  steps, "  how  she  must  feel  when  she  looks 
at  that  cit^-  tower,  and  thinks  that  perhaps  very  soon 
her  lover  may  be  placed  on  his  bier :  the  only  man 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


43 


that  through  a  disinterested,  heart-felt  love,  like  that 
of  a  mother  for  a  deformed  child,  could  so  beauti- 
fully overcome  the  impression  of  her  repugnant 
features." 

"  Pardon  the  step  I  have  taken,"  she  said  with 
embarrassment,  as  she  drew  the  handkerchief,  that 
veil  of  a  dry  heart,  from  her  eyes,  "  if  it  seems  to 
you  incompatible  with  the  delicacy,  which  my  sex 
should  maintain  towards  yours." 

Fortunate  it  was,  that  she  had  not  made  this  speech 
to  Quod  Deus  Vult,  for  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  in 
Europe,  even  in  Paris  or  Berlin,  a  man,  who  in  the 
same  degree  cursed,  or  suspected,  when  a  woman 
entrenched  herself  within  her  sex,  and  the  necessary 
reserve  of  sex,  to  protect  herself  against  the  imagined 
tenderness  of  the  other;  when,  at  one  moment,  a 
pressure  of  the  hand,  at  another,  an  unguarded  glance 
betrayed  an  impure  soul.  He  would  not  have  hesi- 
tated to  assert,  that  an  open  courtezan  was  an  honest 
saint,  compared  with  such  concealed  and  cov/ardly 
sensuality.  ..."  Truly,"  he  said  of  such,  "  they 
enter  the  material  or  spiritual  dissection-room,  merely 
to  see  the  naked  body,  innocent  only,  if  like  children, 
they  are  ignorant  and  childlike  their  conscious- 
ness is  their  death." 

But  the  unsuspicious  Walt  gave  her  merely  the 
simple  and  honest  answer,  that  he  knew  not  how  any 
one  of  his  sex,  to  say  nothing  of  a  holier,  could  con- 
sider such  a  step  as  prompted  by  anything  but  the 
heart. 


44 


WALT  AND  VILT, 


She  had,  however,  nothing  to  say,  but  that  as  the 
dying  maji  was  a  friend  of  her  father's,  and  one  whom 
every  one  liked,  and  she  herself  also  regretted,  she 
wished  to  ask  whether,  the  night  when  he  made  his 
will,  of  which  she  had  learned  by  tlie  seven  witnesses 
as  through  seven  different  avenues,  whether  he  had 
mentioned  her,  for  she  knew  the  word  of  a  dying 
man  was  more  powerful  than  that  of  a  living. 

Walt  answered  conscientiously  tliat  he  had  been 
summoned  as  a  notar}-,  but  from  not  seeing  the  white 
flag,  he  hoped  Fiitt  was  still  living.  She  informed 
him  that  doctor  Hut,  who  had  been  called,  spoke  of 
him  but  as  a  lost  man ;  and  she  told  Walt  that  the 
sorrows  even  of  strangers,  and  the  loss  of  the  most 
distant  of  her  relations,  took  so  powerful  hold  of  her, 
that  it  cost  her  many  tears. 

Walt  looked  with  all  the  signs  of  a  sympathising 
heart  into  her  tearful  eyes,  and  almost  wished  that 
the  delicacy  of  tlie  said  English  romances,  had  per- 
mitted him  to  take  her  sot't  white  hand  in  his,  which 
was  glistening  before  him  in  the  morning  dew  of  the 
shrubs,  and  afterwards  ha  her  dark  hair,  in  order, 
after  the  prescription  of  tlie  English,  to  strengthen  it 
as  with  a  wash. 

They  now  found  tliemselves  upon  the  island,  op- 
posite tlie  stone  statue  of  the  grandfather,  and  near 
an  urn  and  weeping  plants.  Upon  one  of  the  trees 
Raphaela  had  placed  a  tablet,  with  the  inscription, 
"  Friendship  endures  even  to  the  last."  She  wound 
her  arms  around  the  urn,  for  in  this  position  they 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


45 


were  snow-wlilte,  like  the  arms  of  angels,  and  told 
Walt  that  here  she  thought  of  her  distant  friend 
Wina  von  Zablocki,  who  alas,  was  twice  a  year 
separated  from  her,  when,  according  to  their  agree- 
ment, her  father  took  her  to  Leipsic  to  see  her  deserted 
mother.  Unconsciously,  through  her  description  of 
sorrow,  Raphaela's  tone  had  again  become  lively. 
Walt  commended  her  friendship,  and,  still  more  the 
friend  !  She  raised  the  friend  still  higher  than  her- 
self, and  with  his  swelling  heart  he  could  remain  no 
longer.  Resuming  her  tone  of  complaint,  with  a 
melancholy  glance  at  the  tower,  she  parted  from  the 
young  man. 

His  thoughts  were  like  a  flock  of  twilight  birds, 
that  for  thirty-six  hours  had  been  fluttering  about 
his  head,  and  he  knew  not  how  to  get  rid  of  them  but 
by  a  journey,  and  on  foot.  Wina's  living  image,  the 
September  sun  that  burnt  in  the  clear  blue  ether,  the 
possible  travelling  money,  and  all  the  warm  wishes 
of  his  heart  pressed  him  on  one  side ;  on  the  other, 
Dr.  Hut's  regrets  and  receipts,  Flitt's  extremity,  Heer- 
ing's  white  bier-flag,  that  might  at  any  moment 
flutter  —  his  own  delayed  poetic  hours  (for  what 
could  he  compose  in  such  a  crisis  of  uncertainty),  and 
last,  the  thirty-six  hours  of  inward  contest.  At  length 
unable  to  endure  it  any  longer,  he  decided  upon  two 
courses ;  first,  to  go  to  the  executors  of  the  will,  and 
announce  this  pause  in  his  notary  business  ;  and  then 
to  the  flute-player  to  acquaint  him  with,  and  give  him 
the  hundred  inducements  for  his  journey. 


46 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


The  brothers  were  now  accustomed  to  rejoice  if, 
in  the  week,  anything  occurred  which  they  could 
impart  to  each  other  at  their  weekly  meeting.  Walt 
was  now  the  imparter,  and  Vult  had  to  wonder  at 
much.  The  juristic  theory  was  to  him  very  bitter, 
that  the  luord  of  a  dying  man,  like  that  of  a  Quaker, 
had  the  force  of  an  oath  ;  meanwhile  the  point,  upon 
which  the  whole  deception  turned,  remained  con- 
cealed from  him.  It  seems  to  me,"  he  said,  "  he 
sent  for  you  merely  to  make  a  fool  of  you,  but  I 
know  not  why.  In  God's  name,  if  you  -svish  it, 
young  man,  be  a  coach  (travel  the  road),  but  take 
the  advice  of  an  older  traveller,  have  behind  a  little 
window,  that  no  thief  may  cut  from  you  your  purse 
nor  your  honor." 

Vult  had  nothing  to  relate,  but  Walt  fortunately 
could  continue.  He  related  Raphaela's  conversation, 
but  with  the  utmost  caution,  for  he  knew  Vult's  im- 
measurable severity  towards  women.  It  was  of  little 
use.  Vult  hated  the  Newpeters,  especially  the 
women.  "  Raphaela,"  he  said  "  is  an  unmixed  lie 
and  deception."  "  But  in  one  so  unfortunately  ugly," 
said  Walt,  "  I  could  forgive  a  deception,  although  not 
in  myself  nor  in  one  I  loved."  "  I  mean  to  say," 
continued  Vult,  "  that  she  w^ould  fortify  herself  by 
her  assumed  sorrow^  and  if  one  lover  is  extinguished, 
fish  up  a  successor  in  the  dark  stream  of  her  tears." 

"  I  have  always  foreseen  the  possibility  of  such 
deceptions,  but  to  believe  m  the  reality^  is  in  any 
case  difficult,  and  should  make  us  pause.    Is  not 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


47 


Raphaela's  joy,  at  my  praise  of  her  friend,  a  lovely 
sign  ?  "  "  No,"  said  the  inexorable  Vult,  "  the  ac- 
knowledged beauty  only,  who  is  accustomed  to  every 
homage,  hates  mediocrity,  and  the  division  of  any 
sentiment  of  empire  ;  but  beauty  of  a  lower  order,  is 
obliged  to  acquiesce  in  mediocrity,  and  to  praise  all 
that  is  above  her  own  standard." 

Walt  had  nothing  further  to  say.  He  made  known 
his  plan  of  journeying  for  some  days,  to  breathe  the 
pure  heavenly  air,  and  he  was  only  undecided  what 
path  he  should  follow.  Vult  approved  his  plan,  and 
Walt  would  have  taken  leave,  but  the  flute-player  ac- 
customed to  impromptu  journeys,  made  not  much 
account  of  this,  but  said  gaily,  "  Farewell  !  good 
night !  a  happy  journey." 

The  fairest  indication  of  this  appeared  in  the  irra- 
diated sky.  The  sickle  of  the  new  moon  cut  the 
blooming  flowers  of  the  horizon.  The  fresh  morning 
breeze  moved  upon  the  already  crimsoned  islands  of 
clouds,  and  the  stars  as,  one  after  another,  they  went 
down,  left  the  promise  of  a  beautiful  day. 

No.  38.  Marienglas.  A  sort  of  clayey  stone  that 
is  used  in  Russia  for  glass. 


48 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ENTRANCE  ON  A  JOURNEY. 

In  the  morning  Walt  stood  upon  the  threshold 
ready  for  his  journey,  and  looked  round  upon  his 
dark  western  apartment.  He  could  not  help  casting 
a  glance  of  love  and  leave-taking,  and  another  full  of 
compassion  upon  the  tower  where  no  flag  waved  for 
the  dead,  as  he  flew  joyfully  across  the  threshold 
and  upon  the  empty  place  beneath.  He  looked 
around  under  the  four-armed  wooden  sign  post,  to 
determine  within  himself  whether  he  should  take  the 
west,  north,  or  east,  for  he  came  out  from  the  southern 
gate  of  the  city. 

His  main  object  was  not  to  know  the  name  of  any 
town,  nor  even  of  the  villages.  He  hoped  thus,  with- 
out any  decided  aim,  and  a  sort  of  imaginary  uncer- 
tainty, to  wind  about  among  the  pleasure-grounds  and 
flower-beds  of  journeying,  and  see  only  what  should 
arise  before  him  at  every  new  step  ;  to  pray  in  every 
green,  gold-waving  grove ;  in  every  little  hamlet  to 
ask  its  name,  and  secretly  to  exult  in  his  knowledge. 
With  such  measures,  he  hoped  that  even  in  a  small 
compass  of  country  he  might,  perhaps,  find  country 
houses,  irregular  gardens,  a  diminutive  Switzerland ; 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


49 


and  that  his  imagination  might  fill  it  with  mountain 
castles,  and  beautiful  eyes  within  them  looking  down 
upon  him  ;  chapels  with  pilgrims,  and  eyes  raised  in 
prayer  ;  accidents,  and  romantic  adventures  were 
sown  in  numbers  over  his  journey,  such  as  he  could 
never,  in  sober  reality,  expect.  "  Infinite  good !  in 
thy  clear  blue  heaven,"  he  prayed  in  his  exquisite 
delight,  "  this  once  let  not  my  excessive  joy  be  the 
omen  of  disappointment !  " 

He  now  blamed  himself,  that  he  had  not  taken 
counsel  of  the  sign-post,  that,  like  a  monkey,  pointed 
with  its  four  limbs ;  fortunately  no  name  was  visible, 
time,  especially  the  humid  time  of  winter,  with  its 
wet  fingers,  had  rubbed  out  all  the  names  of  the  post 
cities.  To  the  north  was  Elterlein  ;  in  the  east  stood 
the  Pestitz,  or  Linden  mount,  through  which  ran  the 
road  to  Leipsic,  itself  a  city  of  Linden  trees.  Between 
these  two,  Walt  now  directed  his  steps,  so  that  the 
height  behind  which  the  lovely  Wina  rolled  or  rested 
might  never  be  lost  from  his  eyes,  whether  they 
drank  from  the  petals  of  a  flower,  or  from  the  clouds 
that  rested  upon  the  mountain  tops. 

It  is  a  happiness  for  the  present  writer  in  describing 
his  journey,  that  Walt,  for  the  satisfaction  of  his 
brother,  left  so  circumstantial  a  day,  or  rather  minute 
book  of  his  travels ;  so  that  one  need  but  open  the 
covers,  and  all  will  be  found  ready  dipped  in  the  ink  ; 
for  the  sufferer  a  refreshment,  and  he  who  rejoices 
in  the  reality  of  life  ;  may  find  truth  in  poetry,  and 

VOL.  II.  4 


50 


WALT  AND  VüLT 


double  his  enjoyment  if  he  find  his  own  experiences 
renewed  in  those  of  Walt. 

"  I  would,  indeed,  hope,"  thus  Walt  began  the 
minute  and  second  book  of  his  journey,  written  for 
Vult  alone,  "  that  my  brother  will  not  laugh  at  me  if 
I  divide  my  insignificant  journey,  not  into  German 
leagues,  but  rather  into  Russian  wersts,  which,  like 
mere  quarters  of  hours,  are  very  short,  but  not  too 
short  for  men  upon  this  earth.  How  would  it  have 
been  with  this  fleeting  life,  if  instead  of  minute  and 
hour  clocks,  our  time  had  been  measured  upon  week 
or  century  clocks  —  a  short  thread  upon  a  monstrous 
wheel.  Eternity  is  as  vast  as  infinity.  We,  fugitives 
in  both,  have  but  one  little  word  for  both  —  ime." 

As  he  began  his  first  worst  towards  the  north-east, 
with  Wina's  mountain  and  the  early  sun  upon  the 
right,  the  dewy  meadows  and  an  expanding  rainbow 
upon  the  left,  he  struck  his  hands  together,  merely 
from  joy,  like  the  cymbals  of  eastern  music,  and  was 
borne  on  so  lightly  that  he  scarcely  touched  the 
ground.  His  face  was  like  the  morning  breeze,  a 
whole  oriental  life  was  painted  in  his  countenance. 
His  collected  cabinet  of  medals,  or  students'  fortune, 
was  placed  carefully,  to  serve  as  a  surplus,  or  experi- 
mental swimming  girdle,  ready  for  all  floods,  whether 
of  hell  or  paradise.  He  moved  through  the  opposing 
air  as  freely  as  the  butterfly  above  his  head,  needing 
nothing  in  life  but  a  flower  and  a  second  butterfly. 
Turning  from  the  turnpike  (where  he  saw  a  gang  of 
criminals,  undergoing  reformation  by  the  process  of 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


51 


roadmaking,  because  he  would  not  plague  them  to 
give  him  a  morning  greeting,  or  say  to  them  hypo- 
critically, "  good  morning,"  when  he  knew  there  was 
none  in  store  for  them)  he  strayed  rather  in  the  wet 
grass  valley,  where  he  alternately  lost  and  saw  the 
city.  While  he  yet  saw  it  he  could  not  imagine  him- 
self on  his  travels,  he  must,  therefore,  go  back  two 
long  worsts  before  it  disappeared  beyond  the  western 
hills.  As  yet  he  had  met  nothing  more  remarkable 
than  the  road  itself,  when  he  greeted  a  man  who 
passed  quickly  with  his  face  bound  in  a  handkerchief. 
He  passed  on,  and,  when  far  enough  not  to  seem,  im- 
pertinent, looked  round,  the  man  also  had  turned. 
When  again  he  looked,  the  man  had  turned  his  back, 
and  seemed  angry  at  being  so  watched.  Walt  suf- 
fered him  to  pass  without  further  observation. 

He  soon  after  met  (for  thus  his  adventures  in- 
creased) three  old  women  and  a  very  young  girl,  who 
came  out  of  a  wood  with  baskets  heaped  high  with 
dead-wood.  They  stood  in  a  line,  one  behind  the 
other,  resting  their  heavy  baskets  upon  the  sticks 
placed  crosswise,  that  all  bear,  like  Alpine  travellers. 
Walt's  heart  would  have  made  it  out  that,  like 
Catholics  or  Protestants,  in  Wetzlar,  they  employed 
their  fasts  and  festivals  in  this  manner,  that  they 
might  meet  and  talk  .together ;  for  never  could  the 
smallest  alleviation,  the  handful  of  hay  or  feathers, 
escape  his  eye,  which  the  poor  could  lay  upon  the 
hard  wooden  bedstead  of  life,  upon  which  to  sleep 
more  tenderly,  or  to  stuff  out  the  martyrs'  seat,  upon 


52 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


which  he  must  rest.  A  loving  spirit,  in  order  to  feel 
a  joy  himself,  readily  discerns  the  little  joys  of  the 
poor ;  a  malignant  heart  spies  out  their  miseries,  not 
to  lessen  their  amount,  but  that  he  may  grumble  at 
the  rich,  whose  number  perhaps,  he  augments.  Walt 
would  fain  have  given  these  poor  basket-bearers  some 
groschen,  but  he  was  ashamed  to  bestow  charity 
before  so  many  witnesses. 

Immediately  after,  there  came  along  a  man  with  a 
wheelbarrow  of  rattling  tin  ware,  and  his  little  daugh- 
ter harnessed  before  to  drag  it  on.  Both  coughed  as 
though  spent.  Walt  was  constrained  to  place  himself 
at  the  opposite  end  and  help  the  little  girl  to  push  it 
forward.  He  could  not  help  reflecting  how  much 
happier  was  his  lot  than  that  of  the  pedlar,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  old  wood-women.  The  cells  of  his 
life  were  all  filled  with  honey,  and  when  he  measured 
his  free  unrestrained  motions,  travelling  like  the  great 
of  the  earth,  with  the  burthen-bearers  and  wheel- 
turners  of  life,  he  blushed  at  his  riches  and  his  rank. 
As  he  looked  round  and  saw  the  four  wood-carriers 
leaning,  as  before,  upon  the  sticks,  he  ran  back  with 
a  gift  for  each,  and  then  hastened  on. 

"  Ach  Gott,"  he  wrote  in  his  journal  to  justify  to 
himself  this  extravagance, "  the  poor,  passing  pleasure 
of  tickling  the  palate,  with  the  little  better  food  that  a 
few  groschen  would  afford,  cannot  be  compared  with 
the  enjoyment  of  giving,  although  that  enjoyment 
should  not  be  the  motive  with  which  we  give  :  —  but 
the  thought  that  accompanies  one  the  whole  day,  that 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


53 


he  has  solaced  a  heart  spent  with  hunger,  or  warmed 
the  withered,  cold,  and  empty  veins  of  age,  by  the 
loss  of  a  few  groschen,  is  only  to  purchase  therewith 
a  pleasure  for  one's  self."  Here  he  fell,  unrestrained, 
into  his  old  dreams  of  a  travelling  lord,  who,  with  a 
full  hand,  could  give  a  whole  village  beer  and  roast 
meat,  and  enjoy  the  long  elysium  that  such  an  act 
would  afford. 

With  three  heavens  in  his  guileless  face,  although 
he  had  left  one  on  the  faces  behind  him,  Walt  step- 
ped from  dew-drop  to  dew-drop ;  he  had  thrown  out 
the  ballast  of  his  money,  and  his  heart  was  elevated 
like  an  air-balloon  thereby.  In  the  mean  time  he 
reached,  apparently  quite  late,  the  Härmlesberg  inn, 
only  four  wersts  from  the  city ;  for  everywhere  by 
the  way  he  had  sat  down  and  wrote,  or  stopped  to 
read  the  inscriptions  on  the  stone  benches,  upon  the 
road  side ;  not  the  smallest  thing  was  omitted.  He 
inquired  the  names  of  the  inhabitants,  the  food  for 
their  cattle,  the  growth  upon  the  meadows,  the  num- 
ber of  feudal  or  bond-peasants. 

"  In  this  village,"  he  said,  "  like  a  travelling  gentle- 
man, I  will  take  my  dejeuner  d'inatoire'" — and  he 
entered  the  littte  ale-house  of  Härmlesberg. 


No.  39.    The  paper  Nautilus. 


I 


54  WALT  AND  VULT, 


CHAPTER  YIII. 

THE  '>VIRTHSHAUS. 

Walt  was  one  of  those  men,  who  for  whole  years 
would  content  himself  at  home,  or  in  solitude,  with 
spare  food  and  the  smallest  amount  of  indulgence, 
but  not  in  travelling  (others  are  exactly  the  contrary), 
he,  therefore,  boldly  demanded  his  mug  of  beer.  He 
sat  refreshing  himself,  and  observed  with  great  satis- 
faction the  room,  the  table,  the  benches  and  the  peo- 
ple. As  some  travelling  mechanics  paid  for  their 
coffee,  he  remarked  that  the  milk-pots  in  Franconia 
had  their  spouts  or  noses  opposite  the  handle,  while 
in  Saxony,  if  they  had  spouts,  they  were  on  the  left 
of  the  handle.*  His  soul  went  with  these  Burschen 
on  their  way.  Can  there  be  anything,  he  said  to 
himself,  more  delightful  than  such  a  Wanderjahr  in 
the  most  beautiful  time  of  the  year,  in  the  sweetest 
season,  the  spring  of  life,  and  with  the  entertainment 
which  every  master  is  bound  to  give  them  on  their 
wanderings.  To  travel  without  cost,  through  all  the 
cities  of  Germany,  and  as  soon  as  the  wet  and  the 


*  It  would  almost  seem  that  Jeao  Paul  anticipated  the  ridicule 
of  certaia  travels  in  America. 


I 

OR  THE  TWINS.  55 

cold  comes  on,  to  nestle  themselves  in  some  snug 
domestic  comer,  and  brood  upon  the  work-bench, 
like  the  cross-bill  upon  her  nest  in  winter.  "  Why," 
he  wrote  in  his  journal  to  Vult,  "  why  cannot  the 
poor  scholar  have  a  Wanderjalir  7  the  travelling  and 
the  money  are  certainly  as  necessary  to  him  as  to 
the  mechanic  ?  " 

"  Without  —  in  the  Empire,"  Walt's  father  who 
had  been  a  travelling  mechanic,  always  said,  when 
in  winter  snow-storms,  he  related  his  own  Wanderjahr, 
and  this  empire  had  ever  since,  in  the  memory  of  his 
son,  glistened  in  morning  dew,  like  a  square  mile  of 
oriental  land.  Whenever  he  met  the  travelling  ap- 
prentices, his  father  was  again  young,  and  one  of  them. 

A  carter  of  salt  now  stopped  with  his  horse.  He 
came  in,  washed  his  hands  in  the  common  room,  and 
dried  them  upon  a  roller  hanging  from  th'e  horns  of  a 
deer.  Walt  admired  the  boldness  of  this  man  of  the 
world,  for  he  felt  that  he  could  not  have  been  able  to 
wash  his  own  hands  under  any  eyes  but  his  own. 
Yet  as  he  had  called  for  something  and  paid  also,  he 
might  enjoy,  in  a  small  degree,  the  freedom  of  an 
inn,  and  he  began,  well  pleased,  to  walk  up  and  down 
the  little  room.  He  did  not  feel  at  liberty,  indeed, 
under  the  ceiling  of  a  room,  to  keep  on  his  hat,  but 
he  observed,  with  satisfaction,  that  others  were  cover- 
ed,* and  seemed  to  enjoy  the  academic  freedom  and 


*  On  the  continent  at  this  time,  no  one  kept  his  hat  upon  his 
head,  either  in  a  public  or  private  apartment. 


I 


56  WALT  AND  VTJLT, 

independence  of  a  Wirths-apartment,  that  allowed 
every  one  to  lie,  or  to  sit,  to  talk,  or  to  be  silent. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  Walt  walked  up  and 
down,  he  even  went  further,  he  wrote  before  all  eyes 
many  beautiful  texts  in  his  tablets,  from  which  he 
promised  himself  when  he  w^as  alone,  within  his  own 
quarters,  to  compose  many  a  sermon.  The  courage 
of  men  grows  easily ;  it  is  only  necessary  that  it 
should  legin  to  sprout.  The  arriving  guests  greeted 
him  softly,  the  departing  loudly.  Walt  was  able  to 
thank  them  both  aloud.  It  was  so  pleasant  to  find  a 
cup  of  joy,  that,  unlike  Saxon  native  wine,  contained 
no  water.  He  loved  every  dog,  and  wished  to  be 
loved  again.  For  this  reason  he  formed  a  close 
union  with  the  Wirth's  cur,  merely  to  have  some- 
thing for  his  heart,  if  it  were  only  as  narrow  a  band 
of  friendship  as  could  be  formed  with  such  a  being 
by  a  small  piece  of  sausage-skin.  With  warm- 
hearted novices,  the  dog  is  always,  indeed,  the  dog- 
star,  through  whose  introduction  they  seek  to  attain 
to  the  warmth  of  other  men's  hearts  ;  they  are,  so  to 
say,  the  terriers  and  truffle-hunters  of  deep-buried 
hearts.  "  Spitz,  give  the  paw,"  cried  the  host  of 
Härmlesberg.  Spitz,  or  the  Spitz  (for  the  name  of 
the  species  in  Germany  and  in  Haslau,  is  rarely  given 
as  the  personal  name,  except  in  Thuringia,  where 
they  are  called  Fixe).  Spitz,  pressed  the  hand  of  the 
notary  as  well  as  he  knew  how. 

"  Give  the  gentleman  also  a  pat,"  cried  the  host, 
as  three  little  arm-long,  prettily  dressed  girls,  of  the 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


57 


same  size  and  physiognomy,  led  by  the  hand  of  a 
young,  beautiful,  but  snow-white  mother,  entered  from 
the  sleeping-room.  "  They  are  drillings^  and  are 
going  to  visit  their  godmother,"  said  the  host. 

Gottwalt  swore  in  his  journal,  that  there  was 
nothing  in  the  world  more  lovely,  more  heart-touch- 
ing, than  the  sight  of  three  such  pretty,  delicate 
creatures,  all  of  the  same  height;  with  their  little 
caps  and  aprons  and  little  round  faces,  and  nothing  to 
regret,  but  that  they  were  only  drillings,  and  not 
fifthlings,  sixthlings,  or  even  hundredlings.  He 
kissed  them  before  the  whole  room,  and  blushed 
deeply ;  it  was  as  though  he  had  touched  with  his 
lips  the  tender,  pale  young  mother.  But  children  are 
always  the  truest  Jacob's  ladder  to  the  mother's 
heart.  Such  very  little  girls  are  also  an  electrical 
preserver  for  youths,  who  have  not  courage  to  stand 
before  grown-up  maidens ;  a  beautiful  conductor  and 
non-conductor,  presented  unconsciously  for  the  mo- 
ment of  danger,  they  secretly  and  gladly  wonder 
how  they  can  caress  a  little  thing  so  like  a  young 
maiden. 

The  little  girls  were  soon  at  home  with  Walt.  As 
a  twin  himself,  he  was,  he  thought,  more  nearly  re- 
lated to  the  drillings,  than  the  other  guests  in  the 
room.  To  the  great  joy  of  the  mother  he  gave  them 
some  money,  for  which  she  bade  them  give  him  three 
kisses.  But  Walt  held  back ;  he  would  not  allow 
them,  so  early  in  life,  to  anticipate  the  time  when 
such  precious  things  would  be  made  the  subj  ct  of 
barter. 


58 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


"Ah,  good  Herr  Harnish ! "  said  the  Wirth. 
Walt  was  surprised,  but  not  without  pleasure,  that 
the  host  knew  his  name,  for  with  such  a  beginning 
might  he  not  anticipate  yet  stranger  adventures. 
He  therefore  asked  no  questions,  lest  the  truth  should 
rob  the  future  of  hope. 

He  looked  on  silent  and  pleased,  while  the  father 
bartered  the  money  from  the  children  with  apples ; 
and  one  threw  the  bread,  the  mother  had  given  it, 
timidly  at  the  goat  under  the  window,  who  snapped 
it  in  all  haste,  and  another  devoured  the  apples,  and 
the  third  offered  hers  to  him,  till  at  last  perfect  fami- 
liarity was  established  among  them  all.  "  Ah,  were  I 
only  for  a  little  time  almighty,  or  powerful,"  thought 
Walt,  "  I  would  create  a  world  especially  for  myself, 
and  suspend  it  under  the  mildest  sun ;  a  little  world 
where  I  would  have  nohting  but  little  lovely  children ; 
and  these  little  things  I  would  never  suffer  to  grow 
up,  but  only  to  play,  eternally.  If  a  seraph  were 
weary  of  heaven,  or  his  golden  pinions  drooped,  I 
would  send  him  to  dwell  a  month  upon  my  happy 
infant  world ;  and  no  angel,  as  long  as  he  saw  their 
innocence,  could  lose  his  own."  The  children  at 
length,  holding  each  other  by  the  hand,, and  by  the 
mother's,  departed  to  visit  their  god-mother. 

A  tall  Tyrolese,  with  a  green  hat,  upon  which 
many  colored  ribbons  fluttered,  came  singing  into  the 
apartment.  Walt  finished  his  beer  and  went  forth. 
It  was  beautiful  without,  even  within  the  limits  of 
Härmlesberg.    In  the  village,  timber  was  hewed  with 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


59 


heavy  blows,  and  measured  by  the  carpenter's  red 
line,  and  cut  into  exact  forms.  All  the  scenes  of 
Walt's  childhood,  among  the  building-wood  of  his 
father's  industry,  came  back  from  the  roses  of  child- 
hood, laden  with  the  rose-honey  of  memory.  Blanch' 
eresses,  with  great  hats,  went,  slightly  bent,  carefully 
over  the  bleaching  fields  to  water  the  whitening 
linen.  By  the  long  ribbons  of  a  hat,  that  a  young 
girl  carried,  hanging  on  her  arm,  he  was  transported 
to  the  blue  and  yellow  blossoms  of  the  garden,  and 
rocked  in  imagination  in  all  the  cups  of  flowers. 

He  came  now  to  that  long  street  bounded  on  both 
sides  with  hills,  like  rows  of  palaces,  which  enclosed 
the  valley  of  Rosana.  The  key  of  the  garden  of 
Eden  was  in  his  hand,  and  Walt  entered. 

"  The  perfect  spring  is  here,"  he  wrote,  "  the 
Orpheus  of  nature.  The  buttercups  are  so  thick  that 
the  whole  meadows  bloom  with  flowers.  Above, 
from  the  groves  upon  the  hills,  the  wood-lark  and  the 
thrush  call  to  each  other.  Sweet  spring-breezes 
draw  through  the  valley.  Butterflies  and  little  in- 
sects celebrate  their  child-like  ball,  while  the  little 
fieldfares  and  golden  birds  sit  quietly  upon  their  low 
nests.  The  foliage  of  the  cherry-trees  glows  like  its 
fruit,  and  instead  of  pale  blossoms,  beautifully  painted 
leaves  fall  to  the  ground.  The  sun  in  the  autumn, 
as  in  the  spring,  draws  from  the  revolving  earth- 
wheel  his  flying  gossamer  webs.  Truly,  a  spring  like 
this  autumn  have  I  never  seen !  " 

In  the  upper  ether  there  were  thin  stripes  of  silver 


60 


WALT  AND  VüLT, 


floating,  while  beneath,  one  mountain  of  cloud  after 
another  moved  slowly  on,  between  these  lighter  cliffs 
in  the  clear  blue  vault.  Walt  flew  in  thought  upon 
this  celestial  path,  *yet  he  looked  down  into  the 
secluded  valley,  and  saw  the  quiet  smooth  stream 
wandering  there.  The  groves  from  the  mountain 
sides  bowed  themselves  lovingly  towards  it.  On 
other  hills  shone  vineyards,  houses,  and  ripened 
gardens.  He  descended  lower  in  the  valley,  as  upon 
the  lap  of  a  mother. 

"  How  beautiful  it  is,"  he  wrote,  "  in  these  pillared 
halls  of  nature,  the  living  green  above  and  beneath, 
an  eternal  succession  of  infinite  life." 

"  Move  on  ye  beautiful  butterflies,  enjoy  the  honey- 
week  of  your  short  being.  Without  hunger,  without 
thirst,  your  very  existence  is  an  existence  of  love ; 
the  only  chamber  of  your  hearts  *  is  the  bridal 
chamber  of  love.  The  flowers  bend  to  you  and 
suffer  you  to  woo  them,  and  to  flutter  gently  with  the 
blossoms  of  their  life." 

He  looked  at  a  flock  of  silent  nightingales  prepar- 
ing for  their  nightly  annual  flight. 

"  Where  fly  you  with  your  sweet  spring  complaint  ? 
Seek  you  the  myrtle  for  love  ?  Seek  you  the  laurel 
for  song  ?  Desire  you  to  meet  eternal  spring  and 
ever  golden  stars  ?  Ah !  fly  where  there  are  no 
storms  beneath  the  clouds,  and  sing  in  the  fairest 


*  Butterflies  have  only  one  ventricle  in  the  heart,  and  most  of 
them  have  no  stomach. — Author. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


61 


lands ;  but  return  again  in  our  spring,  and  sing  to 
the  thirsting  heart  the  longing  strain  of  Heimweh^  for 
its  own  celestial  country.  Trees  and  flowers !  ye 
bow  yourselves  hither  and  thither  as  though  you  were 
living,  and  would  speak  to  our  hearts.  I  love  you  as 
though  I  were  myself  a  flower  with  its  blossoms. 
Ah  !  once  I  lived  a  higher  life ! " 

Suddenly  he  heard,  afar  off,  the  sound  of  a  flute, 
as  if  it  came  floating  towards  him  from  the  stream 
beneath.  Distance  increases,  in  a  wonderful  degree, 
the  power  of  the  flute  ;  and  to  Walt,  who  understood 
the  sounds  better  than  their  succession,  it  would  not 
have  been  half  so  agreeable  if  it  had  been  nearer. 
The  tones  appeared  to  come  nearer,  but  softer  and 
weaker.  Upon  the  road  there  was  a  stone  bench. 
He  looked  at  it  as  an  instance  of  the  care  of  men  for 
others,  and  to  express  his  gratitude,  sat  down  upon 
it.  But  he  soon  threw  himself  into  the  high  grass  of 
the  river's  bank :  he  would  be  nearer  the  mother 
earth,  which  is  at  the  same  time  the  table  and  the 
bed  of  man  ;  but  he  moved  gently,  not  to  frighten  the 
little  fishes  of  a  day,  that  were  playing  in  the  warm 
quiet  bend  of  the  shore.  He  loved  not  one  or  another 
living  being,  but  all  life  itself,  not  merely  the  pros- 
pect, the  grass,  the  woods,  the  clouds  and  the  golden 
insect,  he  bent  low  to  observe  the  smallest  earth- 
worms, their  bread-trees  and  their  pleasure-gardens. 
He  would  pause  in  the  midst  of  writing  his  poems,  if 
a  weak  and  spotted  insect  was  working  its  way  over 
the  smooth  surface  of  the  paper,  lest  he  should  crush 


6S 


W  ALT  AND  VULT, 


or  disturb  him.  "  Ach  Gott !  "  he  said,  "  how  can 
any  one  destroy  life,  if  he  only  look  upon  it  rightly,  for 
a  single  moment." 

He  listened  again  for  the  flute,  which  seemed  to 
speak  from  the  breast  of  the  silent  nightingales,  when 
two  large  clear  drops  fell,  as  from  a  warm  passing 
cloud,  upon  his  hand  ;  he  looked  at  them  long,  as  he 
used  formerly  to  do  when,  in  his  childhood,  he  be- 
lieved the  rain  came  from  a  high,  far  off,  holy  place. 
The  sun  darted  upon  the  white  skin,  as  though  it 
would  kiss  the  drops  away.  Walt  kissed  them  off 
with  his  own  lips,  and  looked  with  inexpressible  love 
up  to  the  warm  sky,  as  a  child  to  its  mother.  He 
sang  no  longer,  but  listened  and  wept. 

At  length  Walt  rose  and  continued  on  his  heavenly 
way.  He  had  advanced  some  steps,  when  he  picked 
up  a  toll-bill,  that  had  fallen  from  the  hat-band  of  a 
waggoner :  with  the  hope  that  he  might  overtake  and 
restore  it  to  the  driver,  he  hastened  his  steps.  Noth- 
ing that  belonged  to  others  ever  appeared  to  him 
trifling,  while  nothing  concerning  himself  could  ever 
take  much  hold  upon  his  disinterested  mind.  It 
would  have  been  easier  to  him,  in  the  midst  of  his 
poetic  fervor,  to  have  bowed  a  mountain,  than  to  have 
bent  a  flower.  If  the  glow  of  passion  rises,  con- 
fused and  rapid,  like  a  burning  ship,  the  poet's  warmth 
rises  from  the  heart,  like  the  dove  in  the  evening  twi- 
light, or  like  the  christian,  who,  as  he  ascends  towards 
heaven,  does  not  forget  the  earth.  The  flute,  whose 
sounds  pursued   him  through  the  valley,  without 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


63 


coming  nearer  when  he  paused,  or  retreating  when 
he  ran,  was  silent,  when  the  road  turning  suddenly 
up  towards  the  hills,  opened  wide  and  broad  upon  a 
plain  filled  with  villages  and  castles,  and  water-courses 
from  the  mountain  ;  all  girdled  round  with  bending 
woods.  He  went  along  the  summit  of  the  hill  as 
upon  a  long  arched  bridge,  on  each  side  of  which  he 
could  see  a  sea  of  living  green. 

As  he  was  entirely  alone,  and  secure  from  all  ears, 
he  whistled  freely  chorals,  phantasies,  and  at  length 
the  old  national  melodies,  and  left  off  not  even  when 
he  paused  for  breath.  Differing  from  all  other  wind- 
instruments,  this  mouth  harmonica  is  romantic^  and 
sweet  in  proportion  as  it  is  near,  or  only  a  few  inches 
from  the  ear;  and  as  with  music  in  dreams,  the  per- 
former is  at  the  same  time  the  maker  of  the  instru- 
ment, the  composer,  and  the  player,  without  in  the 
least  needing  any  other  master  than  himself,  the 
pupil  of  his  own  teaching. 

Walt  became  constantly  happier,  and  more  excited 
as  he  continued  to  blow  upon  this  first  shepherd's 
pipe,  upon  this  original  Alp-horn,  against  the  western 
wind,  that  blew  back  the  tones  to  his  own  breast,  till 
at  last  it  appeared  to  him  that  they  were  sounds 
woven  from  the  distant  air.  As  soon  as  he  began  to 
descend  on  the  left,  the  brow  of  the  hill,  towards  the 
shepherd's  pastures  and  the  meadows,  he  saw  the  old 
gray  church-towers  of  Altengrün,  of  Joditz,  of  Thal- 
hausen,  of  Wilhelmslust,  of  Kirchenfelda,  and  dis- 
covered the  hunting  and  pleasure  castles,  either  of 


64 


WALT  AND  VÜLT, 


whose  names  had  been  in  his  childhood,  enchanting, 
romantic  words,  ancient  paradises  for  his  childish 
imagination.  Then  he  looked  back  again  upon  the 
plain  at  his  right,  where  he  saw  the  stream  of  his 
valley,  the  Rosana,  become  free  and  spread  out  upon 
a  flowery  dancing  plain,  where  it  could  wander  at  its 
own  sweet  will,  and  always  bear  and  reflect  the  silver 
shield  of  sun  or  moon.  Then  he  raised  his  eyes  to 
the  Lindenstall  hill,  where,  among  the  graceful  linden 
trees,  the  dark  pine  woods  stood  like  broad  shadows ; 
and  then  towards  heaven,  where  the  clouds  sailed 
silent  and  gentle,  like  the  doves ;  and  in  the  low 
valley,  where  the  harvest  birds  sheltered  under  the 
stone  bridges  in  storms ;  he  became  silent  from  re- 
verence, and  thought  what  he  ought  to  sing  in  the 
presence  of  God,  as  though  the  Infinite  had  not  read 
his  thoughts.  At  length  he  repeated  in  a  low  voice 
the  Streckvers,  that  he  had  long  since  composed. 

"  Oh  how  is  heaven  ;  how  is  earth  so  full  of  joyful 
voices  !  How  much  more  beautiful  than  where  the 
choruses  once  loudly  complained,  and  Niobe  only 
stood  immovable  beneath  her  veil,  with  infinite  woe 
in  her  heart.  Here  the  choirs  of  heaven  and  earth 
now  praise  and  rejoice.  The  Infinite  *  alone  is 
silent,  above  the  ether  that  veils  his  bliss  ! " 

After  this  he  looked  towards  heaven,  called  God 
twice  Du,  (Thou)  and  was  silent  a  long  time.  Then 


*  Allseelige,  cannot  be  translated. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


65 


he  thought  he  might  be  permitted  to  think  of  Wina. 
Suddenly  there  came  to  his  ears  an  old,  confidential 
but  wonderfully  familiar  sound  from  the  distance  ; 
a  sound,  as  out  of  the  starry  twilight  morning  of 
childhood.  Many  miles  at  the  left,  behind  unnum- 
bered villages,  he  saw  Elterlein  lying,  and  he  be- 
lieved he  knew  the  old  village  bell,  and  that  he  could 
discover  Wina's  white  mountain  castle  and  the  pa- 
rental house.  He  thought  with  longing  heart  of  his 
distant  parents,  of  the  tranquil  life  of  childhood,  and 
of  the  gentle  Wina,  who  had  also  come  to  him  in  the 
secluded  life  of  her  childhood,  and  laid  the  auriculas 
in  his  hand.  His  eye  rested  and  dwelt  on  that  east- 
ern mountain,  behind  which,  as  behind  a  cloistered 
wall,  he  saw  Wina,  like  a  nun,  wandering,  earnest 
and  silent  among  the  flowers  of  the  convent  garden. 
The  clocks  and  bells  from  many  villages  sounded 
out  together.  The  morning  wind  blew  stronger,  the 
sky  was  brighter  and  more  blue,  and  the  variegated  ta- 
pestry, upon  which  this  earthly  life  is  pictured,  spread 
itself  over  the  whole  region. 

Now  he  sang  again,  filled  with  blissful  thoughts, 
but  named  not  her  name. 

"  Through  the  beautiful  nights  move  numberless 
stars,  and  the  northern  aurora  appears,  and  the  night- 
ingales sing,  but  man  sleeps  and  remarks  it  not.  At 
last  he  opens  his  eye,  and  the  sun  looks  at  him.  Oh ! 
Lina,  Lina !  thou  went  past  me  like  the  stars,  like 
Aurora,  with  thy  flowers,  with  thy  sweet  tones,  and 

VOL.  II.  5 


66 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


thy  love  ;  but  my  eye  was  blind  !  now  it  is  open  — 
but  the  flowers  have  faded,  the  tones  have  passed 
away,  and  thou  art  to  me  nothing  more,  but  the  re- 
splendent sun." 

He  turned  from  the  blowing  wind.  All  the  world 
was  wonderfully  still  around  him  ;  the  sound  of  his 
voice  was  low  and  soft  like  the  tones  of  childhood, 
and  he  became  much  agitated.  He  went  and  sang 
again  

"  Tearful  eyes  !  desolate  heart !  Seest  thou  not  the 
sky  and  the  spring  and  the  lovely  life  around  thee  ? 
Wherefore  dost  thou  weep  ?  What  hast  thou  lost  ? 
Who  is  dead  for  thee  ?  Ah  !  I  have  lost  nothing. 
For  me  no  one  is  dead  !  Oh,  suffer  me  to  weep,  for 
I  have  never  yet  loved  !" 

At  last,  he  sang  nothing  but  lines  and  single  words, 
and  came  hastily  through  cultivated  fields,  over  clear 
brooks,  through  the  mid-day  silence  of  the  village. 
He  passed  by  the  resting  tools  of  labor,  while  the 
hands  that  used  them  were  taking  their  short,  mid- 
day repose.  Upon  the  magic  circle  rested  the  magi- 
cal haziness  of  ether.  The  storm-wind  had  passed, 
and  upon  the  sky  remained  only  the  pure  infinite 
blue.  The  past  and  the  future  of  life  seemed  to 
meet  in  this  transparent  atmosphere,  kindled  by  the 
present.  The  flower  petals  of  life  opened,  and  drew 
him  into  her  enchanted  calyx,  and  rocked  him  in  her 
honey  cup,  while  the  hour  of  Pan  went  on  ! 

"  Now  I  understand,"  he  wrote  in  his  journal,  "  as 
I  always  do  upon  a  journey,  what  the  ancients  meant 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


67 


by  the  magic  influence  of  the  hour  of  Pan.  It  lasts, 
I  think,  from  eleven  and  twelve  to  one  o'clock. 
Therefore  the  Grecians  believed  in  the  hour  of  Pan  ; 
and  people  at  the  present  time  in  a  noon-day 
ghost,  and  the  Russians  in  a  mid-day  demon,  that 
rules  this  hour.  While  it  lasts  the  birds  are  silent. 
Men  sleep  near  their  tools  of  labor.  Throughout 
nature  there  is  something  secret  ;  yes,  something 
mysterious,  as  though  the  dreams  of  these  mid-day 
sleepers  were  floating  around.  Near  us  all  is  soft 
and  low,  while  in  the  verge,  where  heaven  and  earth 
meet,  sounds  seem  to  hover.  We  do  not  in  this 
magic  hour  remember  the  past,  but  it  unconsciously 
penetrates  and  fills  us  with  yearning  and  melancholy. 
Towards  the  vesper  hour  life  becomes  again  fresh 
and  powerful." 


No.  40.    Cedo  nulli. 


68 


WALT  AND  VTJLT, 


CHAPTER  IX. 
THE  beggar's  staff. 

Walt  turned  in  at  Griinbrunn.  He.  held  his  wax- 
wings  before  the  kitchen  fire  of  the  Wirthshaus  and 
meUed  them  down  a  httle.  In  fact,  a  man  with  the 
best  wings  for  the  ether,  needs  also  a  pair  of  boots 
for  the  paving-stones.  As  the  dining-room  was  full 
of  dogs  and  gentlemen,  he  took  a  seat  rather  under 
a  sort  of  pent  roof,  where  a  table  was  spread  the 
whole  length  of  the  place.  From  thence  he  could 
look  out  into  the  strange  fields,  and  when  he  had 
reckoned  and  found  that  he  was  nineteen  worsts  from 
his  home,  he  felt  like  a  light  troubadour  of  ancient 
times.  He  entered  in  his  journal  the  economical 
practice  which  he  saw  before  him,  of  enclosing  the 
meadows  with  rows  of  cabbages,  or  with  rows  of 
other  kinds  of  vegetables,  as  in  some  other  places 
with  a  ridge  of  unploughed  waste  land  ;  and  he 
remarked  to  a  peasant  who  sat  near  him,  eating,  how 
very  neat  it  was. 

They  suffered  him  to  sit  a  long  time  in  his  epic 
mood  of  mind,  with  the  echoes  of  his  morning  melo- 
dies in  his  ears,  looking  at  the  coming  and  vanishing 
guests,  while  he  waited  for  his  table-cloth  and  his 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


plate.  It  is,  perhaps,  worth  the  trouble  to  remark, 
that  Walt  was  one  of  those  men  who  never  ate  all 
that  was  placed  before  him,  partly  from  delicacy 
towards  the  host,  lest  he  should  think  he  had  not 
been  liberal  enough.  Men  like  him  belong  to  those 
royal  animals,  the  eagle  and  the  lion,  who  never,  like 
children  or  meaner  animals,  wholly  devour  all  that  is 
placed  before  them.  Walt  could  not  understand  how 
the  peasant,  and  the  other  guests,  could  so  clean  their 
plates,  and  after  trepanning  every  polished  bone, 
bore  it  through,  as  if  it  had  been  a  cannon  or  a  pearl. 

After  dinner  he  placed  himself  at  the  open  door  of 
the  eating-room,  with  the  toll-bill  he  had  found  in  the 
enchanted  valley  in  his  hand,  to  wait  till  the  dining 
wagoners,  whom  he  was  too  timid  to  address  in 
corpore,  came  out,  singly.  There  stood  a  young 
thirteen  yeared  little  wagoner,  in  a  blue  frock  and 
thick  white  night-cap,  secretly  turning  the  hour-glass 
of  the  host,  which  was  only  a  third  run  out,  as  though 
he  would  drive  on  the  hours.  Walt  was  angry,  and 
turned  the  glass  back  again.  It  was  impossible  for 
him  to  suffer  such  an  injustice,  which  indeed  he 
would  have  endured  if  directed  against  himself,  but 
not  against  another.  This  excitement  gave  him  cou- 
rage to  raise  the  toll-bill  before  the  whole  table  d  'hote, 
and  to  call  out  "  if  any  one  had  lost  it  ?  "  "  I,  sir," 
said  a  voice,  and  out  stretched  a  long  arm,  seized  it, 
and  nodded  slightly,  without,  as  Walt  had  expected, 
any  expression  of  thanks. 

Walt  would  now  have  taken  wings,  instead  of 


70 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


horse,  to  go  forth  ;  and  while  paying,  he  was  rejoiced 
that  a  poor  old  beggar,  who  would  gather  his  alms 
in  natural  products  rather  than  in  money,  asked  him 
for  a  glass  of  beer,  probably  a  secret  disciple  of  the 
physiocralic  system.  The  man,  while  taking  this 
little  solace  of  nature,  placed  his  beggar's  staff  in  the 
corner.  This  gave  Walt  an  opportunity  to  take  the 
heavy  thorny  stick  in  his  hand.  He  raised  and 
swung  it  with  the  strange  feeling  that  he  had  now 
actually  in  his  hand  that  beggar's  staff,  of  which  he 
had  heard  and  read  so  much. 

At  length,  after  having  represented  to  himself  with 
increasing  warmth,  that  this  was  the  last  thin  and  frail 
fragment  of  a  dismasted  life  ;  a  dry  branch  cut  from 
no  brilliant  Christmas  tree,  but  from  a  weeping  oak ; 
a  spoke  from  Ixion's  wheel,  he  determined  to  possess 
it,  by  purchasing  this  only  luxury  of  the  beggar,  who 
could  only  be  convinced  that  he  was  in  earnest,  by 
the  money  Walt  offered  in  exchange. 

"  This  staff,"  said  Walt  to  himself,  "  shall  trans- 
form me  like  an  enchanted  rod,  and  better  than  a 
Lorenzo  smiff-lox^  make  me  always  pitiful  and  mer- 
ciful, when  with  coldness  and  indifference  I  would 
pass  by  the  great  sorrows  of  my  fellow-men  ;  it  shall 
make  me  recollect  how  brown,  and  withered,  and 
weary  was  the  hand  that  bore  it."  This  he  said 
severely  to  himself,  for  the  tender-hearted  man,  un- 
like the  hard-hearted,  reproaches  himself,  unjustly, 
that  he  is  not  merciful  enough  ;  while  the  hard-heart- 
ed thinks  himself  too  merciful.    He  needed  not  this 


OR  THE  TWINS, 


71 


staff  to  support  his  fruit-bearing  blossoms  ;  but  where 
the  beggar's  lightning-conductor  itself  grows,  upon 
the  battle-fields,  and  around  the  pleasure  castles  of 
kings  who  came  into  the  world  with  teeth;*  there, 
where  the  secret  steps  and  scaffolding  of  thrones  are 
built  of  such  martyr  wood ;  in  countries  where  the 
beggar's  staff  is  the  common  or  general  staff,  per- 
haps through  the  army  itself ;  there  it  would  be  a 
desirable  legacy,  if  every  beggar  in  the  land  would 
leave  his  staff  to  make  out  a  state  cabinet  of  curious 
woods.  At  least,  if  near  every  sceptre  and  every 
sword  such  a  balancing  rod  were  placed,  it  might 
serve,  like  the  rod  of  Moses,  to  draw  sweet  water 
^    from  the  hard  rock  of  the  throne. 

Walt  left  his  inn  exulting  as  much  in  his  purchase 
as  the  beggar  himself,  who  remained  in  astonishment 
and  joyful  tears  at  the  exchange.  He  rejoiced  espe- 
cially at  the  golden  harvest  of  adventures  he  had 
gathered  in  half  a  day.  "  Truly,"  he  said,  "  it  is 
strange  !  In  Härmlesberg  they  knew  my  name  ;  in 
Grünbrunn  1  find  it  written ;  an  enchanted  flute  goes 
with  me,  and  pauses  when  I  pause  ;  a  strange  travel- 
ling staff  has  fallen  into  my  hands.  Heavens  !  after 
such  a  beginning  what  may  happen  in  a  long  sum- 
mer's afternoon  ?  A  hundred  wonders  !  for  it  strikes 
but  just  two  o'clock."  Walt  looked  into  the  blue 
vault  of  heaven,  and  went  gayly  on. 

No.  41.  Trödelschnecke. 


*  Lewis  XIV.  was  born  with  teeth. — Author. 


72 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


CHAPTER  X. 

LIFE. 

In  the  next  stream  Walt  washed  his  hands,  and 
the  beggar's  staff,  for  out  of  delicacy  towards  the 
beggar,  he  had  taken  it  as  it  was.  The  first  act  of 
benevolence  that  he  performed  after  the  purchase  of 
his  stick,  was  upon  the  floating  wood  itself  in  the 
river.  He  could  not  bear  to  see  that,  while  much  of 
the  timber,  dancing  joyfully,  swam  down  the  stream, 
much,  also,  that  was  not  insignificant,  was  caught  in 
the  windings  of  the  stream,  and  miserably  imprisoned 
in  corners.  With  his  beggar's  stick  he  helped  to  set 
as  many  afloat  again  as  he  could  reach,  to  follow  the 
course  of  the  others  ;  for  "  all  boards,"  he  said,  "  as 
well  as  all  men,  have  not  the  impelling  motive  to  join 
the  procession  of  their  fellows." 

He  now  met  a  little  ragged  boy,  barefooted,  in  a 
pair  of  red  plush  breeches,  infinitely  too  large,  and 
inexpressibly  polished,  —  the  castaway  breeches  of 
some  poor  man,  which  had  become  to  him  at  the 
same  time  breeches  and  stockings.  The  boy  possess- 
ed nothing  but  a  little  glass  containing  salve,  with 
which  he  constantly  stroked  his  inflamed  eyes.  Walt 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


73 


asked  him  gently  the  cause  of  his  pain  and  distress. 
It  consisted  in  this  ;  that  he  was  running  away  from 
his  step-mother,  as  his  father  had  done  before  him, 
and  that  he  hoped  to  enlist  in  the  French  army. 
"  Do  you  think  the  Hessian  groschen  would  be  of 
any  use  to  you  ?  "  asked  Walt,  who  found  to  his 
surprise,  that  he  had  given  away  all  his  small  money. 
The  boy  looked  at  him  stupidly,  and  laughed,  as  if 
it  were  a  good  joke,  but  said  nothing.  Walt  showed 
him  one  — "  Oh  !  "  said  he,  "  I  know  that  well ;  my 
father  has  often  given  it  to  me  to  exchange."  Walt 
learned  at  length  that  the  boy  was  a  Hessian,  and 
gave  him  all  that  remained  of  his  native  currency. 

Gradually  the  beggar's  staff  seemed  to  manifest  its 
malignant  power,  and,  like  a  lightning-rod,  to  draw 
the  thunder  upon  him.  Walt  tried  in  vain,  but  he 
could  not  bring  back  the  morning  spring,  he  was 
compelled  to  see  the  evening  autumn  before  him, 
which  was  indeed  as  epic  as  the  spring  had  been 
lyric  and  romantic.  He  dared  to  lay  the  guilt  on  the 
stick,  that  although  he  looked  at  the  Leipsic  hills, 
and  would  have  looked  beyond  them  on  the  other 
side  to  find  on  the  Leipsic  plains  Wina's  garden- 
door,  it  was  all  in  vain  ;  the  staff  would  stop  and  turn 
on  the  descending  mountain  side. 

He  saw  now  only  the  flight  and  the  rapid  course 
of  life ;  its  haste  upon  the  earth,  like  the  flight 
of  the  shadow  of  the  clouds,  while  in  the  sky  the 
clouds  themselves  moved  slowly  on  ;  and  the  sun, 
like  a  God,  stood  firm  and  silent.    "  Ah  !  "  he  said, 


74 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


"  in  every  autumn  fall  also  human  leaves ;  but  alas, 
not  all !  " 

He  looked  at  a  closely  eaten  meadow  ;  violet  color- 
ed with  the  full-blown  poisonous  harvest  flowers,* 
and  listened  to  the  noisy  birds,  who  seemed  to  be 
consulting  with  each  other  about  their  nocturnal  jour- 
ney. Upon  the  high  road  a  heavy  wagon  rolled, 
under  whose  hind  wheels  a  dog  was  barking  violently. 
Then  came  Walt  to  a  little  village  with  five  or  six 
washing  and  sweeping  houses,  and  some  others, 
smoking  with  baking-ovens.  The  young  men  were 
raising  with  poles,  at  the  risk  of  half  their  lives,  a 
May-tree,  ornamented  on  the  top  with  gay  colored 
ribbons,  (a  May-tree  in  a  village  is  as  important  as 
a  bird-pole  t  in  a  middling  town.)  The  young  girls 
who  sent  up  the  ribbons,  heated  and  red  with  the 
excitement,  had  nothing  in  their  blessed  heads  and 
hearts  but  the  Sunday  dance  around  the  May-pole, 
with  all  the  most  respectable  Burschen  in  the  place. 
Not  far  from  these  he  saw  a  pretty  little  girl  of  eleven 
years  old,  walking  with  a  crutch,  whom  he  inex- 
pressibly pitied,  because  she  could  not  join  the  to- 
morrow's dance. 

Some  criminals  came  along,  chained  together,  and 
between  their  prison  leaders,  singing,  as  they  went, 


*  Colchicum  Autumnale. 

t  The  diversion  of  shooting  at  a  mark  in  the  form  of  a  bird 
suspended  from  the  top  of  a  high  pole,  is  common  in  the  small 
towns  in  Germany. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


75 


the  praises  of  the  beer  they  had  drunk  in  the  last 
village  they  passed  through. 

Walt  came  now  to  the  considerable  village,  of 
which  the  first  named  was  only  a  parish.  The  door 
of  the  mother  church  stood  wide  open,  and  from  the 
short  thick  tower  something  was  blown,  which  was 
answered  again  by  the  blowing  of  the  shepherd's 
horn.  He  went  in  for  a  moment,  for  among  all  pub- 
lic buildings,  he  preferred  to  visit  churches ;  they 
were  ice  palaces,  upon  whose  empty  walls  the  altar 
fire  of  his  own  pious  thoughts  kindled  and  played  in 
wandering  lights  and  in  beautiful  colors.  A  christen- 
ing was  going  on.  The  baptized  and  the  baptizer 
were  both  crying  before  the  baptismal  angel.  *  Four 
or  five  men  were  adorned  after  their  custom,  in  their 
Sunday  clothes,  the  hurried  work  of  the  tailor.  From 
the  principal  pew,  that  of  the  noble  family,  the  servant 
girls  looked  on,  wrapped  in  blue  aprons,  instead  of 
shawls,  the  demi-negligee  of  their  working  days.  The 
God-father,  who  was  also  the  great-grandfather  of 
the  little  child  at  the  fount,  from  years  and  weakness 
could  scarcely  support  the  little  frail  neck  ;  and  his 
winterly  form,  spare  and  denuded  of  all  grace,  with 
the  few  white  hairs  carefully  gathered  behind  to  form 
a  cue,  made  a  painful  impression  on  the  heart  of 
Walt.  The  old  man  standing  so  near  the  young ; 
the  child  of  the  grave  close  to  the  child  of  the  cradle  ; 
the  yellow  stubble  supporting  the  may-blossom,  dwelt 


*  Tlie  angel  that  supports  the  fount. 


76 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


upon  and  touched  his  fancy  for  an  hour  after  he  left 
the  village. 

"  Play  rather,"  he  said  to  some  children  who  car- 
ried a  cross,  and  were  playing  a  burial  procession, 
"  play  rather,  dear  children,  at  baptizing  an  infant." 

"  Rejoice  now  in  your  plays,  blooming  children  ! 
When  you  again  become  children  through  age,  you 
will  bend  beneath  infirmities  and  gray  hairs  ;  and  in 
that  melancholy  play,  the  days  of  infancy  will  be 
remembered.  The  western  sky  may  indeed  shut 
down  the  aurora,  and  the  eastern  glow  may  be  re- 
flected in  the  west,  but  the  clouds  become  darker,  and 
no  second  sun  arises  in  life.  O  !  rejoice,  then,  chil- 
dren, in  the  rose  color  of  the  morning  of  life,  that  gilds 
you  like  painted  flowers,  fluttering  to  meet  the  sun." 

The  magic  lantern  of  life  threw  a  succession  of 
moving  figures  upon  his  way,  enlightened  as  they 
were  behind  the  glass  by  the  setting  sun,  they  passed 
before  him  in  a  continual  stream.  A  boat,  with  mer- 
chandise for  the  fair  ;  adjoining  the  road  side  an  hum- 
ble village  church-yard,  over  whose  turf  wall  a  lap- 
dog  could  spring ;  an  extra  post,  with  four  horses  and 
four  servants  ;  the  shadows  of  the  clouds,  and  follow- 
ing them,  the  shadow  of  a  flight  of  ravens  ;  the  ruins 
of  castles  gray  with  age.  Now  he  passed  a  clatter- 
ing mill,  then  a  village  accoucher  springing  in  haste 
to  his  horse  ;  the  hard,  dry,  village  barber,  his  razor- 
bag  dangling  behind  him  ;  a  thickly  coated  country 
minister,  with  his  written  harvest  sermon,  to  thank 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


77 


God  for  the  universal  harvest,  and  his  hearers  for  his 
own ;  a  wheelbarrow  loaded  with  wares,  and  a  beg- 
gar with  his  staff,  both  going  to  the  kirmes  dinner.* 

He  passed  another  village  of  three  houses,  and  a 
man  upon  a  ladder  to  number  the  houses  and  streets 
with  red  ;  a  fellow  bearing  a  white  plaster  bust  upon 
his  head,  either  the  head  of  an  old  emperor,  or  phi- 
losopher, or  any  other  whatever  ;  a  pupil  of  the  gym- 
nasium spitted  upon  a  milestone,  with  a  romance 
before  his  eyes,  to  enable  him  to  poetize  youth  and 
life  ;  and  at  length,  upon  a  distant  height,  yet  between 
him  and  the  green  mountain,  a  conspicuous  town, 
which  he  would  reach  to-night,  upon  whose  steeples 
and  gables  the  clear  evening  sun  was  reflected  in 
golden  light,  as  they  stood  against  the  blue  ether. 

As  he  ascended  a  little  eminence,  and  looked 
backwards  and  forwards  to  knit  together  the  chain  of 
objects  hastening  on,  or  departing  from  each  other, 
there  came  to  meet  him  a  picture-dealer,  with  his 
print  and  picture  gallery  bound  upon  a  cylinder,  and 
suspended  from  his  neck,  and  asked  him  if  he  would 
purchase.  "  I  know  I  shall  not  purchase  anything," 
said  Walt,  and  gave  him  twelve  kreuzers,  "  but  let 
me,  for  these,  turn  them  over  a  Ihtle." 

"  With  all  my  heart,"  the  other  answered,  and 
bent  back  his  thorax  that  he  might  draw  them  out. 

Here  Walt  found  again  the  standing  and  the  mov- 
ing pictures  of  life,  drawn  out  with  color  upon  paper  ; 


*  A  church  consecration  dinner. 


78 


WALT   AND  VULT, 


half  the  world,  and  the  world's  history;  pictures  of 
potentates  and  of  pots  from  Herculaneum  ;  merry 
andrews  and  military  uniforms  :  flowers  and  fashions ; 
all  overlaid  the  breast  of  the  man. 

"  What  is  the  name  of  that  little  town  above 
there    "  asked  Walt. 

*'  Altfladungen,  my  dear  Sir,  and  the  mountain 
beyond  is  an  excellent  lightning  conductor,  otherwise, 
the  day  before  yesterday,  the  lightning  would  have 
burnt  it  up,"  said  the  picture-dealer  ;  "  but  I  have 
more  beautiful  pictures  than  you  have  yet  seen," 
and  he  turned  over  the  hano;in^  cabinet  with  both 
hands.  Walt's  eye  fell  upon  a  Quodlibet  *  sketch, 
where,  with  a  traveller's  lead  pencil,  all  the  objects 
of  his  day's  journey,  as  it  seemed,  had  been  hastily 
thrown.  Since  his  youth  he  had  considered  a  so- 
called  qiiodJihet  an  anagram  or  epigram  of  life,  and 
had  looked  at  it  with  more  sadness  than  cheer- 
fulness ;  but  especially  as  upon  this  one,  which  was 
so  drawn  as  to  represent  a  Janus-head,  with  two 
faces,  that  differed  little  from  his  own  and  Vult's. 
An  angel  hovered  over  both.  Beneath,  under  one 
face,  was  written  in  German,  What  God  iciUs,  is 
well  done  —  under  the  other  in  Latin,  Quod  Dem 
Vult  est  bene  factus.  Walt  purchased  the  picture 
for  his  brother,  and  the  picture-dealer  left  the  hill 
with  many  thanks. 


*  A  disconnected  sketch  that  tells  the  story  of  any  given  time, 
thrown  together  upon  one  sheet. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


79 


Walt  again  raised  his  soul  from  the  daily  painted 
course  of  life,  passing  beneath  his  eyes,  to  the  pro- 
tecting mountain,  whose  painted  rocks,  and  sheep 
feeding  beneath  them,  had  become,  in  the  parting 
sun,  altogether  rose  color,  and  his  thoughts  took 
this  form  — 

"  Thus  it  stands,  as  it  has  stood  from  eternity. 
Before  the  birth  of  man,  it  divided,  as  now,  the  heavy 
thunder-clouds,  and  brake  the  thunderbolt  ;  and 
although  there  were  none  to  rejoice,  made  all  clear 
and  beautiful  in  the  valleys  beneath.  How  many 
thousand  times  may  the  crimson  glory  of  evening 
have  gilded  its  summit  when  there  was  no  eye  to 
look  up,  and,  overpowered  with  the  majesty  of  nature, 
sink  again  into  the  forgetfulness  of  dreams !  Art 
thou  then.  Oh,  Infinite  Nature,  art  thou  not  too  Infi- 
nite for  us,  the  poor  creatures  of  a  day  ?  when  for 
centuries  thou  hast  shone  in  power  and  in  splendor 
—  alone  !  And  thee  !  oh  God,  not  even  a  God  has 
yet  beheld  thy  face  !  How  much  less  we,  who  are 
so  infinitely  little  !  " 

As  the  day  advanced  towards  evening,  the  epic 
mood  of  his  soul  was  changed  into  the  romantic. 
Behind  these  rose -mountains,  Wina  again  wandered 
in  her  garden  ;  for  the  light  of  evening,  colors  at  the 
same  time  the  optical  and  the  spiritual  shadows 
before  us  more  gayly.  He  longed  now  for  commu- 
nion with  some  human  being,  and  he  pressed  himself 


80 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


upon  a  man  who  was  wheeling  a  barrow  full  of  wool 
slowly  along,  and  who  frequently  stood  still,  and 
looked  at  the  setting  sun. 

"  He  had  been,"  said  the  latter,  who  was  soon  ex- 
cited to  talk,  "  formerly  a  shepherd,  and  had  kept  his 
herds  together  by  blowing  a  glass  horn  ;  there  were  not 
many  herdsmen  that  would  not  have  made  something 
of  it,  if  they  could  have  learned  to  blow  as  well 
as  he  did,  but  no  one  had  ever  been  capable  of 
it,  and  he  should  like  to  know  whether  other  herds- 
men kept  their  cattle  behind  them  when  they  waded 
through  the  Elbe  (as  though  they  were  files  of  sol- 
diers). God  forbid  that  he  should  boast,  but  it  was 
true." 

Nothing  gave  Walt  more  joy  than  to  hear  a  poor 
devil,  whom  nobody  praised,  praising  himself  so 
heartily. 

"  I  shall  have  to  wheel,"  said  the  man,  who  kept 
his  own  part  in  the  conversation,  "  full  five  hours 
longer,  and  the  fresh  cool  night  will  be  right  wel- 
come." 

"  That  I  can  easily  believe,  my  old  friend,"  said 
Walt,  before  whom  the  never- forgotten  old  man  of 
Toggenburg  appeared  to  stand.  "  In  the  shepherd's 
hut  upon  wheels,  where  you  sleep,  the  whole  starry 
heaven  must  be  open  to  you  when  you  wake  at  night. 
The  night  must  be  wonderfully  dear  to  you." 

"  It  is  very  natural,  I  think,"  said  the  shepherd, 
"  for  as  soon  as  it  begins  to  be  fresh,  the  dew  falls 
bravely.    The  wool  collects  the  moisture,  and  weighs 


OR  THE  TWINS.  81 

much  heavier  —  that  every  honest  shepherd  knows. 
And  in  a  hundred  weight  it  will  go  for  something,  if 
not  for  much." 

Wah  left  him  with  an  angry  "  good  night,"  and  has- 
tened on  to  the  mountain  town,  whose  columns  of 
smoke  were  ascending  in  the  evening  air,  and  where 
he  hoped,  after  the  adventures  of  the  day  in  villages, 
one  would  spring  up,  perfect  in  root  and  flower, 
worthy  to  be  transplanted  into  his  written  romance. 

No.  42.    A  variegated  changing  spar. 


VOL.  II. 


6 


82 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


CHAPTER  XL 

C03IEDIANS.     THE  MAN  WITH   THE  MASK. 

Walt  entered  the  Lewis  XVIII.,  as  the  mn  was 
called,  which  stood  just  at  the  gate  of  the  city.  His 
first  adventure  was,  that  the  host  refused  to  give  him 
a  room.  "  The  whole  house,"  he  said,  "  is  taken 
by  Fränzel's  company  of  comedians.  The  gala- 
rooms  and  chambers  are  in  possession  of  the  higher 
characters,  who  came  in  carriages  and  on  horseback, 
and  the  foot-goers  have  the  floor  of  the  house." 
Walt  found  himself  obliged  to  put  up  with  the  loud 
tumult  of  the  coffee-room,  while  he  hoped,  at  least, 
his  sleeping-room  might  be  solitary. 

He  placed  himself  at  the  half-circular  leaf  of  a 
sideboard,  and  called  to  a  waiter,  who  accidentally 
passed  near  enough,  and  asked  politely  for  food  and 
drink,  fortifying  his  request  with  good  arguments. 
Without  any,  he  might  have  received  it  six  minutes 
sooner  at  the  common  table.  While  sitting  there,  he 
felt  the  highest  respect  for  the  entering  and  departing 
actors ;  and  particularly  for  some  distinguished  ac- 
tresses, and  their  hundred  peculiarities.  The  habits 
of  the  men,  so  newly  and  skilfully  polished  ;  the 
buoyant  and  expanded  dresses  of  the  women  ;  their 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


83 


universally  high  self-esteem,  through  which  every 
actor  was  the  mint-master  of  his  own  prize  medal ;  his 
own  chevalier  dVionneur  ;  every  actress  her  own 
decorative  painter  ;  the  true  stage  courage  displayed 
in  the  apartment  of  the  host ;  the  feeling  that  the 
sock  and  the  cothurn  protected  their  Achilles'  heels. 
Then  again,  the  variegated  obscurity  of  their  dic- 
tion, which  was  cut  out  and  made  up  from  as  many 
pieces  as  the  uniforms  of  those  French  soldiers, 
made  from  bed  covers  and  curtains,  and  every  thing 
else  they  could  plunder  ;  and  the  purer  pronuncia- 
tion, so  much  envied  by  Walt.  "  There  cannot  be 
among  them,"  he  thought,  "  one,  who  has  played  often 
and  long,  an  honest,  or  a  modest,  or  a  learned,  or  im- 
perial, or  even  innocent  part  upon  the  stage,  without 
improvement :  "  and  he  grafted,  as  youth  is  accustom- 
ed to  do,  into  the  wood  of  the  stage,  as  into  the  pul- 
pit, the  men  who  stand  upon  it,  but  make  no  part  of 
its  growth. 

What  troubled  him  the  most  was,  that  all  the  faces, 
even  the  youngest,  bore  the  traces  of  age,  while 
upon  the  stage  (if  the  play-bill  require  it),  as  upon 
Olympus,  there  is  eternal  youth. 

In  the  dusk  of  the  evening,  a  man  came  in,  whose 
countenance  was  moved  by  no  expression,  who  spoke 
with  every  one,  but  in  a  hollow  voice,  and  often, 
when  one  asked  him  a  question,  instead  of  answering, 
would  turn  close  to  the  questioner,  look  at  him  with 
a  dark,  lightning  glance,  and  turn  away  again  wiljjout 
saying  a  word.    He  appeared  to  belong  to  Franzel's 


84 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


fruit-eating  company,  and  yet  these  comedians  seemed 
to  look  at  him  with  marked  attention.  The  man 
ordered  a  melon  and  a  paper  of  snufF ;  cut  the  melon, 
and  strewed  the  snufF  upon  it,  handed  it  to  the  oth- 
ers, and  began  to  eat  the  slices  of  melon  himself. 
As  the  lights  were  brought  in,  he  handed  the  plate  to 
the  astonished  notary,  who  plainly  saw  that  the  man 
wore  a  mask,  (but  not  a  deforming  one,)  before  his 
face,  and  the  well-known  Iron-mask  glided  with  the 
old  shudder  into  his  imagination.  Walt  bowed,  and 
declined. 

After  this  the  mask  arose  and  went  to  the  window, 
opened  the  upper  part,  and  asked  some  of  the  actors 
if  they  would  venture  to  throw  an  egg  through  the 
window  ?  "  Wherefore  ?  "  said  one.  "  Why  not  ?  " 
another.  The  mask  drew,  with  something  concealed 
in  his  hand,  some  lines  across  the  window,  apparent- 
ly in  the  air,  and  said  coldly,  "  Now  perhaps  — 
nothing  more."  He  would  pay  doubly,  he  said,  for 
all  the  eggs,  as  soon  as  one  was  thrown  through. 
All  the  actors,  one  after  another,  threw  an  egg.  All 
rebounded.  Not  one  passed  through  the  window. 
The  mask  doubled  the  price.  It  was  in  vain.  Walt, 
who  had  learnt  to  use  the  sling,  opened  his  purse, 
and  paid  a  groschen  for  an  egg,  and  bombarded  like 
the  others ;  he  might  as  well  have  thrown  a  bomb 
without  a  mortar.  A  whole  brood  "and  poultry  of 
eggs  fell  back  harmless  from  the  window. 

"Jt  is  well,"  said  the  mask,  "  till  to-morrow  even- 
ing, about  this  time,  the  egg-opposing  power  will 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


85 


remain  in  the  window  ;  after  that  any  one  may  throw 
them  through."    And  he  went  out. 

The  host  laughed,  not  so  much  because  he  admir- 
ed the  trick,  as  because  he  was  reflecting  that  in  the 
morning  these  eggs,  upon  his  reckoning  table,  would 
be  worth  more  than  a  whole  falconry  of  birds  of 
prey,  to  bring  booty  to  his  purse. 

As  the  mask  did  not  immediately  come  back,  Walt 
followed  him  with  the  thought, — "Heavens!  what 
adventures  a  traveller  may  meet  with  in  twelve 
hours;"  and,  as  he  was  hungry  for  new  ones,  he 
walked  in  the  twilight,  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city. 
He  always  preferred  the  suburbs  of  a  city  to  the 
city  itself,  because  they  seemed  half  in  the  country, 
in  its  fields  and  flowers,  and  were,  besides,  on  all 
sides  open. 

Walt  had  walked  not  a  long  time,  when  he  met, 
among  the  hundred  eyes,  a  pair  of  deep  blue  ones, 
that  looked  penetratingly  into  his  own.  They  be- 
longed to  a  beautiful  and  well  dressed  maiden,  to 
whom,  as  she  passed,  he  took  ofl*  his  hat.  She  went 
into  an  open  shop.  A  shop  is  a  privileged  place, 
where,  as  in  a  stage-coach,  or  a  romance,  different 
and  opposing  characters  are  brought  together.  Walt 
did  as  his  own  romance  writer  in  such  cases,  and 
busied  himself  with  the  various  pieces  of  cut  goods, 
of  which,  however,  he  purchased  only  a  hair-ribbon, 
merely  for  the  purpose  of  knitting  a  bond  between 
himself  and  the  blue-eyed  damsel.  The  beautiful 
girl  stood,  as  it  were,  upon  a  sort  of  bargaining  lad- 


86 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


der,  with  a  pair  of  men's  kid  gloves  in  her  hand, 
and  disputed,  at  every  step,  the  value  of  the  gloves. 
The  amazed  notary  stood  with  the  hair-ribbon  be- 
tween finger  and  thumb  before  the  counter,  until  the 
bargaining  was  ended,  and  the  refused  gloves  thrown 
back  to  the  shopman.  Walt,  who  always  avoided 
even  looking  inquiringly  into  a  shop,  lest  he  should 
excite  and  disappoint  hopes  of  a  purchase,  stepped 
bitterly  away,  grieved  at  the  hardness  of  the  gentle- 
eyed  maiden,  and  left  her  charms,  where  she  had 
left  her  gloves.  Beauty  and  self-interest,  or  avarice, 
were  to  him  opposhe  poles.  In  buying,  not  in  sell- 
ing, women  are  less  generous,  and  much  narrower 
than  men  ;  because  they  are  more  considerate  and 
fearful,  and  are  more  accustomed  to  the  outlay  of 
small,  than  of  large  sums. 

The  blue-eyed  passed  beyond  Walt,  and  looked 
back,  apparently  at  the  letter-post-man,  whose  horn 
was  sounding  behind  them.  In  the  post  horn  there 
was  always  something  displeasing  to  Walt's  fancy  ; 
without  his  knowing  why,  except,  perhaps,  that  as 
formerly,  it  awakened  longings  for  a  future,  foreign 
world ;  now  that  world  was  his  own,  the  sound  no 
longer  promised  or  painted  more.  Men  often  be- 
come cold  to  the  post-horn  or  post-rider,  because 
they  know  beforehand  that  he  brings  nothing  to 
them. 

As  he  entered  the  Lewis  XYIIL,  the  post-rider 
alighted  from  his  saddle  in  the  court.  He  looked  at 
Wait,  and  asked  him  how  he  was  called  }    "  Where- 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


m 


fore  ?  "  asked  the  other.  "  In  case  your  name  is 
such  as  it  is,  I  have  a  letter  addressed  to  it,"  answer- 
ed the  post-man.  It  was  in  Vult's  hand.  On  the 
address  was  written,  In  case  H.  H.  is  not  in  Altfla- 
dungen, the  respected  post-master  is  requested  to 
return  the  letter  to  H.  Van  der  Harnish,  at  the  theatre- 
tailor's,  Purzel. 


No.  43.  Polished  stick  of  amber. 


88 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ADVENTURES. 

Here  follows  Vulfs  letter.  —  "I  am  just  out  of 
the  feathers,  (while  thine  have  borne  thee,  or  thou 
them,  many  worsts  onward,)  and  write  hastily  with- 
out stockings,  that  my  letter  may  reach  you  this 
evening.  It  is  ten  o'clock  ;  at  half-past  ten  my 
dream  must  be  at  the  post.  My  dream,  I  say,  for  I 
have  had  one,  so  strange  that  I  must  send  it  after 
you,  even  if  you  should  laugh  at  me  for  it,  for  a 
month  to  come.  Your  whole  to-day's  and  to-mor- 
row's journey,  I  have  distinctly  dreamed.  Has  the 
trickster  of  dreams  deceived  me,  and  this  letter 
does  not  meet  you  at  Atfladungen,  but  is  returned  to 
me,  then  I,  as  well  as  you,  have  been  made  his  sport, 
and  we  will  expose  him. 

"  In  my  dream  I  was  sitting  upon  the  peninsula  of  a 
cloud,  and  saw  the  whole  of  the  north  eastern  land- 
scape, with  all  its  flowery  meadows  and  dunghills  ; 
between  which  passed  a  small,  yellow-coated  figure, 
rejoicing,  on  his  way.  His  eyes  sometimes  raised  to 
heaven,  sometimes  cast  down  to  the  earth.  This 
figure  once  stood  still,  drew  out  its  purse,  and  then 
went  on  to  the  alehouse  in  Härmlesberg.  After- 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


89 


wards,  I  saw  from  my  cloud,  that  it  went  through  the 
Rosana  valley,  up  the  mountain,  and  past  the  villa- 
ges. In  Grünbrunn  it  vanished  again  by  the  alehouse. 
My  dream-spirit  was  truly  poetical,  for  every  time 
you  entered  an  alehouse,  exactly  six  minutes  before 
you  there  entered  a  person  resembling  you,  only 
more  spiritual,  more  beautiful,  with  small  wings, 
which,  whenever  they  moved,  colored  my  cloud, 
sometimes  with  a  dark  blue,  sometimes  with  a  pure 
rose-colored  reflection.  I  inferred,  that  the  dream 
would,  in  this,  represent  to  me  thy  good  genius, 
always  preceding  thee  on  thy  journey." 

Walt  now  found  the  riddle  solved,  or  doubled 
through  another ;  that  the  bust  in  Härmlesberg  knew 
his  name ;  that  it  was  written  in  another  place,  and 
also  the  solution  of  the  strange  quodlihet  of  the  pic- 
ture-dealer. 

But  Walt  began  to  doubt  the  authenticity  of  the 
letter,  and  asked  the  drinking  post-rider  where,  and 
from  whom,  he  received  it. 

"  That,  I  know  not,"  he  said,  pettishly,  "  what  my 
post-master  gives,  I  ride  to  the  station  with,  and  Gou 
forbid  I  should  pry  into  secrets." 

"  To  be  sure,"  said  Walt,  and  read  curiously,  fur- 
ther. "  Thereupon,"  continued  the  letter,  "  I  saw 
you  pass  through  many  places,  and  enter  a  church. 
The  genius  slipped  in  before  you.  In  the  evening, 
you  took  up  your  night-quarters  in  Altfladungen. 
Here  I  saw,  before  the  door  of  the  Wirthshaus, 
a  splendid  form,  namely,  the  genius,  contending 


90 


WAI/r  AND   VII  LT, 


with  a  dark-looking  being,  whose  head  had  no  face, 
but  was  all  hair." 

"  God  ! "  cried  Walt,  "  that  must  be  the  man 
with  the  mask!"  "The  being  without  a  face," 
continued  the  letter,  "  held  possession  of  the  door ; 
but  thy  genius  rose,  like  a  bat  in  the  gloaming,  close 
to  my  cloud  ;  there  threw  off  its  wings,  and  descend- 
ed about  a  mile  from  Altfladungen,  where  it  assum- 
ed the  shape  of  a  mole,  and  disappeared  in  the  earth, 
and,  after  a  time,  threw  up,  close  to  a  bowling-green, 
a  little  mole-hill. 

"  It  struck  eight  o'clock,  reverberating  in  the  cloud 
around  me,  and  the  being  without  a  face  came  to  the 
mole-hill,  and  seemed  to  place  something  within  it, 
and  you,  who  were  behind  him,  found,  as  you  stro- 
ked away  the  summit  of  the  ground,  some  hundred- 
year-old  Frederic  (Tors^  that  the  genius  had  dug 
up,  God  knows  from  what  depths  and  caverns,  per- 
haps from  Berlin  itself,  and  deposited  there  for 
thee."* 

At  this  moment  the  mask  really  entered.  Walt 
tried  to  look  behind  his  mask,  but  saw  nothing.  It 
struck  three  quarters  after  seven.  The  mask  walked 
uneasily  up  and  down  the  apartment.  He  had  in 
his  hand  a  piece  of  black  paper,  which,  he  said,  he 
had  been  obliged  to  hang,  as  a  mark,  upon  the  heart 
of  a  soldier,  who  had  been  shot,  and  in  which  he  cut 
a  face,  which  Walt  said  in  his  journal,  "  looked  pre- 


*  Vult  had  gained  the  money  by  giving  a  concert  at  Berlin. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


91 


cisely  like  me.  Like  that  incomprehensible  winter 
night  of  the  mind,  when  we  are  like  spirits  to  our- 
selves, this  mask  appeared  to  me,  in  this,  my  sum- 
mer night  of  life." 

It  struck  eight  o'clock,  and  the  mask  went  out. 
Walt  followed  boldly  behind  him.  There  was  in  the 
garden  of  the  inn  a  bowling-alley,  and  Walt  observ- 
ed that  the  mask  actually  struck  a  stick  into  one  of 
the  little  mole-hills  near.  Scarcely  had  he  gone, 
than  Walt  proceeded  to  take  out  the  stick,  and  skim- 
med, for  such  it  seemed,  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
like  milk.  The  cream  was,  indeed,  some  spoon's  full 
of  beautiful,  although  rusted,  Frederic  d'ors. 

"  Why  did  1  not  faint  on  the  spot "  he  says  in 
his  journal,  (which  may  be  extensively  read.)  "  it 
was  because  I  was  now  embarked  in  a  stream  of  ad- 
ventures, that  beat  strongly  against  the  present  and 
actual,  while  the  thin  air  of  the  future,  and  of  hea- 
ven, drew  me  on,  whether  1  would  or  not."  He 
adds,  also,  that  he  wished  to  read  further  in  the  let- 
ter, and  see  what  he  should  do  in  the  morning,  and 
which  path  he  should  take,  to  pursue  his  journey. 
"  It  was,  truly,  the  first  time  in  my  life,"  he  con- 
tinues, "  that  I  ever  reached  the  experience  of  seeing 
clearly  beyond  the  present  into  the  future,  and  living 
my  passing  hours  twice,  now,  and  then. 

The  letter  goes  on.  "  My  dream  was  now  again 
somewhat  more  human.  I  saw  again  how  the 
mask,  and  thy  genius,  sought  to  allure  thee  upon  dif- 
ferent ways.    Instead  of  taking  the  road  to  St.  Lüne, 


92 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


you  followed  your  genius  to  Rosenhof.  At  this  mo- 
ment, the  mask  fell  to  pieces,  and  I  saw  only  some 
dry  bones.  Thy  genius  arose,  and  became  a  cloud 
in  the  far  distant  horizon.  You  went  singinfj  from 
your  mid-day  quarters,  namely,  Jodhz,  through  a 
landscape  filled  with  castles  in  the  air,  to  the  valley 
of  Rosana  ;  where  you  had  to  wait  till  the  ferry- 
boat took  you  over  into  the  little  city  of  Rosenhof. 

"  How  such  visions  could  come  into  my  head  is 
comprehensible,  only  through  the  fact,  that  since 
yesterday,  you  and  your  romantic  dreams  are  con- 
stantly in  my  mind.  I  would  that  your  name  were 
so  renowned,  that  this  letter  would  reach  you,  if  it 
were  only  addressed  to  H.  H.,  upon  the  earth,  or,  as 
we  say,  ^  to  the  man  in  the  moon.'  The  dearest 
address  to  any  one  is,  '  to  Him,  in  this  Universe.' 

"  Brother  !  travel  with  the  wisdom  of  the  serpent. 
Preserve  much  knowledge  of  the  world,  and  do  not 
believe,  as  you  once  asserted,  that  a  blind  passenger 
can  take  his  place  by  the  letter-post,  and  fail  as  little 
in  his  object,  as  one  who  sees.  Be  happy,  and  lead 
a  merry  life  with  the  old  Frederic  d'ors,  that  the 
mole  thre\v  up.  Select  not,  O  friend,  a  mourning 
horse  for  a  hobby-horse,  for  every  cross^  from  the 
cross  of  an  order  to  the  ass's  cross,  presses  upon,  or 
bears  too  much.  *    Avoid  as  much  as  possible  the 


*  In  Catholic  funerals,  the  horse  is  covered  with  a  black  cloth, 
on  which  the  cross  is  wrought.  The  Eselkreuz,  or  ass's  cross, 
means  the  cross  marked  with  black  hairs,  along  the  spine,  and 
across  the  back  of  every  ass. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


great  world  ;  their  joy-dances  are  set  in  F.  mol. 
Fate  often  takes  the  thick  liquorice-stick,  upon  which 
they  chew,  for  a  rod,  with  which  to  chastise  them. 
***** 

"  I  conclude  the  longest  and  most  serious  letter  I 
have  written  for  ten  years,  for  it  strikes  half-past  ten, 
and  it  must  forth.  But,  heavens  !  where  mayst  thou 
be  Perhaps,  worsts  wide  from  our  Haslau,  and 
already  experience  in  yourself  how  easy  it  is  to 
out-crow,  and  like  a  polypus,  out-swell  other  men ; 
and  how  difficult  it  is  not  to  look  down  with  con- 
tempt upon  those  recluses,  who,  perhaps,  have 
never  crept  ten  miles  from  their  stoves,  and  to  whom 
a  correct  judgment  upon  such  travellers  as  you  and  I 
is  impossible.  Such  men,  friend  !  should  only  once 
experience,  in  their  own  person,  how  mortifying  is 
that  British  law,  that  those  who  go  out  of  the  cities 
should  give  way  to  those  who  enter  in.* 

"  Follow  my  counsel.   Farewell.   Noli  nolle. 

V.   DER  H." 

"  P.  S.  Preserve  this  letter  in  case  it  reaches 
you  —  else  not.  There  are  things  therein  for  our 
Hoppel  poppel." 

No.  44.  Cat-gold  from  Saxony.  A  glimmering 
mica,  containing  no  gold. 


*  Hume's  miscellaneous  works. 


94 


WALT  AND  YULT, 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  ACTRESS. 

"  There  may  be,  behind,  in  the  dream,  a  spirit  or 
a  man,"  thought  Walt,  "  in  either  case  it  will  remain 
a  wonderful  adventure."  He  was  wafted  away,  upon 
the  train  of  this  romantic  comet,  far  from  the  crowded 
apartment,  and  even  from  the  earth  upon  which  we 
dwell.  The  old  Frederic  d'ors,  with  which  he  in- 
tended to  accomplish  so  much,  were  the  golden 
coverings  of  his  wings.  Now,  Avithout  encroaching 
upon  the  parental  fund,  he  could  call  for  a  pint  of 
wine,  even  if  the  Alsatian  should  recover. 

In  such  a  happy  mood,  he  easily  made  his  way 
through  the  theatrical  swarm  in  the  apartment, 
passing  in  and  out,  as  through  a  cornfield  ;  now  brush- 
ing the  sleeves  of  the  men  or  women  ;  now  pausing 
before  the  groups,  and  laughing,  boldly  enough,  at  a 
strange  conversation.  The  blue-eyed  girl,  who  had 
not  bought  the  men's  gloves,  entered  the  room.  The 
director  of  the  company  scolded  Wina,  (so  he  ab- 
breviated the  name  of  Jaco-bine)  publicly  and  se- 
verely, because  she  had  brought  him  gloves  that 
were  too  dear.  Walt  had  the  satisfaction  of  secretly 
excusing  her  avaricious  bargain-making,  when  he 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


95 


found  that  she  belonged  to  the  company  of  come- 
dians ;  a  class  of  people  who  have  never  anything 
to  spare  ;  whose  gold-dust,  like  the  rosin  of  their 
fiddle-bows,  is  thrown  in  to  increase  the  fire.  While 
the  rough  director  thundered  at  her,  she  cast  the 
most  good-humored  glance  at  W alt,  and  said  at  last, 
"  that  gentleman  was  the  witness  of  her  effort  to 
make  a  better  bargain."  Walt  defended  her,  but 
the  thunderer  was  little  appeased.  * 

At  last,  however,  she  made  her  peace  with  him, 
and  sat  and  sewed  ;  but  raised,  as  often  as  she  drew 
out  her  needle,  her  great  blue  eyes,  roguishly  upon 
Walt,  till  he  felt  himself  encouraged  to  approach, 
and  sit  near  her.  He  looked  attentively  at  her  sew- 
ing, and  tried  to  think  of  a  suitable  preface  and  in- 
troduction to  conversation.  He  could  easily  spin  a 
long  and  fine  thread,  but  he  found  it  difficult  to  bind 
the  first  flossicle  upon  the  spindle.  While  he  was 
searching  in  the  chambers  of  the  brain,  and  in  the 
antechamber  of  the  heart,  for  something  to  say,  she 
slipped  off  her  little  shoe  from  her  little  foot,  and 
called  to  some  of  the  gentlemen,  to  lay  it  upon  the 
stove,  to  dry.  Walt,  with  much  satisfaction,  would 
have  sprung  to  obey,  but  he  blushed  too  deeply,  and 
was  embarrassed.  A  female  shoe,  for  he  could  not 
separate  it  from  the  foot,  was  to  him  as  sacred,  as 


*  I  have  here  omitted  two  or  thee  pages,  where  a  wager  be- 
tween the  mask  and  the  director  of  the  company  is  described,  in 
which  the  mask  wins.  —  TV. 


i 


96  WALT  AND  VÜLT, 

beautiful,  and  as  significant  as  her  bonnet.  For  a 
man,  the  shoe  is  nothing ;  the  overcoat  is  of  some 
consequence,  and  of  children  every  little  thing  is 
sacred. 

"  I  thought  you  would  at  last  say  something," 
interposed  Jacobine,  and,  as  she  could  not  move  his 
tongue,  she  would  his  body,  and  let  her  spool  of  cot- 
ton fall,  holding  it  by  the  end  of  the  thread.  Walt 
ran  to  take  up  this  fortune's  foot-ball,  Jacobine  ran 
also,  and  pushed  it  still  further  on  with  her  foot,  so 
that  he  became  completely  entangled  in  the  thread. 
Both  stooped  at  the  same  moment,  their  heads  met, 
and  both  were  reddened  by  the  blow,  for  her  natural 
paleness  had  been  corrected  by  the  stage  rouge,  and 
his  natural  glow  increased.  As  they  came  thus  sud- 
denly together,  in  an  extraordinary  and  active  group- 
ing, more  was  done  towards  an  acquaintance,  than  if 
they  had  sat  there  three  months  considering  the 
programme  of  friendship.  The  ball  furnished  an 
Ariadne's  thread,  through  the  labyrinth  of  introduc- 
tion, and  Walt  asked  her  boldly,  "  What  are  your 
principal  characters  ?  "  "  I  play  all  the  innocent  and 
naive,"  she  answered,  and  the  glance  of  her  eye 
confirmed  her  assertion. 

To  give  her  a  high  and  exalted  pleasure,  Walt  went 
deeply  into  stage  characters,  and  defined  to  the  silent 
sewer  the  true  poetry  of  acting. 

"  You  are  as  wearisome  as  a  theatrical  poet,"  she 
said,  at  last,  "  or  you  are  one }  What  may  be 
your  name. "    Walt  informed  her.    "  I  am  called 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


97 


Jacobinc  Pamsen  ;  Mr.  Franzel  is  my  step-father. 
Where  do  you  think  of  going,  Mr.  Flarnish  ?  "  He 
answered,  "  probably  to  Rosenhof"  "  Delightful ! 
we  play  there  to-morrow  evening,"  and  she  described 
the  heavenly  places  around,  and  said,  "the  place 
itself  is  indeed  wholly  superb."  "Ah,  well"  — 
said  Walt,  and  promised  himself,  from  her  descrip- 
tion, a  little  pattern-card  drawing  of  the  landscape, 
and  a  skeleton-leaf  of  the  foliage  —  "  go  on." 

"  But  what  then  ?  "  said  the  Pamsen,  "  the  places, 
I  tell  you,  are  the  most  divine  that  can  be  seen. 
Look  after  them  yourself." 

The  masked  gentleman  now  stepped  up  to  them, 
wholly  at  his  ease,  and  said  decidedly,  "  near  Berch- 
tolsgaden,  in  Salsburg,  is  one  much  like  it,  and  in 
Switzerland  I  found  much  more  beautiful  places. 
Besides,  the  Berchtolsgadners  cut  artistical  tooth- 
picks," and  he  drew  one  from  his  vest,  whose  handle 
was  cut  in  the  form  of  a  perfect  greyhound.  "  He 
who  travels  for  pleasure  only,  mein  Herr,"  he  con- 
tinued, "  may  find  his  account,  perhaps,  better  in  the 
watering-place  of  St.  Lüne,  where  at  present  three 
courts  are  pouring  in ;  the  whole  of  the  Flachsen- 
fingel,  besides  the  Scherrauer  and  Pestizer,  and  a 
whole  flood  of  other  guests.  I  journey  in  the  morn- 
ing there  myself" 

The  notary  bowed  slightly.    Fate  had  through 
this  whole  evening  prepared  for  him  only  surprises. 
*'  Heavens  ! "  he  thought,  "  these  are  the  very  words 
VOL,  ir.  7 


98 


WALT  AXD  VÜLT, 


that  are  in  my  brother's  letter."  Jacobine,  with  her 
work,  left  the  room  at  the  entrance  of  the  mask,  and 
by  the  light  he  looked  at  the  passage  in  the  letter, 
and  found  —  "  In  the  morning  thy  genius  and  the 
mask  endeavored  to  allure  thee  two  different  ways, 
but  thou  followedst  thy  genius,  and  instead  of  St. 
Lüne,  went  rather  to  Rosenhof."  It  now  appeared 
certain  that  the  mask  was  his  bad  genius  ;  Jacobine, 
to  judge  from  many  things,  his  better  angel,  and  he 
wished  much  that  she  had  not  left  the  apartment. 

Walt  had  already  come  to  the  resolution  to  follow 
the  dream  and  the  letter  on  the  path  to  Rosenhof,  for 
he  had  learnt  from  Homer  and  Herodotus  and  the 
whole  Grecian  history,  a  sacred  reverence  for  the 
indications  of  destiny,  and  fear  of  raising  the  bold 
human  hand  of  free  will,  against  the  fore  finger  in 
the  clouds.  This  resolution  of  obedience  was  now 
strengthened  by  the  importunity  of  the  mask,  and 
the  unconscious  influence  of  Jacobine  in  weaving 
that  net  in  which  men,  as  well  as  birds,  are  impri- 
soned, because  it  is  of  the  same  color  as  the  earth, 
and  as  hope  —  namely,  green. 

He  saw  no  more  of  Jacobine ;  but  under  the 
threshold  of  her  door,  merely  the  light  that  streamed 
into  his  own  little  chamber  opposite.  He  considered 
a  long  time  whether  he  should  not  offend  the  whole  of 
humanity  if,  through  suspicion,  he  drew  his  night-bolt. 
But  the  mask  occurred  to  him,  and  he  fastened  his  door. 
In  his  dreams  it  seemed  to  him  he  heard  his  name  soft- 
ly called.    "  Who's  there  ?  "  he  cried  out.    No  one 


OR  Tin:  TWINS. 


99 


answered,  and  the  purest  moon-ligbt  alone  lay  upon 
the  pillow.  His  dreams  were  confused.  Jacobine 
drew  him  always  again  upward,  borne  on  a  rose- 
colored  cloud,  after  the  mask,  in  the  form  of  an 
angel,  had  thrown  him  upon  the  hot,  sulphureous 
earth. 


No.  45.  Katzenauge, 
an  eye  is  represented. 


A  sort  of  onyx,  in  which 


100 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  FRESH  MORNING. 

Early  in  the  morning  the  troop  broke  up  their 
noisy  tents,  as  troops  are  wont  to  do,  and  moved  out 
of  the  camp.  The  drivers  shook  their  night-straw 
off.  The  horses  neighed,  and  pawed  the  ground. 
The  freshness  of  life,  and  of  the  morning  kindled 
the  glittering  morning  dew  over  all  the  fields  of  the 
future,  and  made  it  worth  their  trouble  to  journey 
forth.  The  noise  and  motion  animated  the  romantic 
in  the  heart,  and  it  was  as  if  one  passed  over  from 
the  land  of  prose  to  the  land  of  poetry,  and  reached 
it  about  seven  o'clock,  when  the  sun  yet  burnished 
all  with  gold.  As  they  passed  before  Walt,  Jacobine, 
paler  than  the  rest,  appeared  like  the  spirit  he  had 
seen  in  his  dream,  and  he  looked  forward  to  the 
evening,  when  he  should  again  see  this  pale  spirit, 
and  ask  her  the  cause  of  her  paleness.  It  was  easier 
for  him  to  suspect  the  color  of  the  soul  even,  than 
the  painted  cheek,  that  autumn  color  of  the  falling 
leaves,  that  displaces  the  virgin  bloom  of  the  rose  of 
spring.  *  *  * 

The  mask  mounted,  and  cantered  off  upon  the 
road  to  St.  Lüne.    Gottwalt  knew  that  if  he  struck 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


101 


into  the  road  to  Joditz,  the  dream,  which  prophesied 
that  he  should  dine  in  that  little  village  would  be 
half  fulfilled.    He  took  that  road. 

Was  it  that  the  second  day  of  travelling  had  dim- 
med the  dazzling  splendor  of  nature,  or  that  his 
uncertain  glance  at  the  prophesied  gifts  of  Rosenhof 
had  scared  away  the  soft  green  of  nature,  that  like  a 
picture,  can  only  enter  a  quiet  eye?  Enough  — 
instead  of  yesterday's  reflective  morning,  he  had 
now  only  a  restless  activity.  He  rarely  sat  down, 
he  flew,  he  stood,  and  went  on  like  an  express-rider 
at  the  top  of  his  speed.  Had  he  met  Don  Quixote's 
Rosinante  grazing  upon  a  meadow,  he  had  swung 
himself  on  the  naked  back,  (himself  his  own  sad- 
dle,) to  ride  through  the  world  of  romance,  till  he 
paused  before  the  house-door  of  some  Dulcinea  of 
Toboso.  He  saw  as  he  passed,  a  working  oil-mill, 
and  entered  it.  The  giant  machinery  appeared  to 
him  to  be  alive ;  the  cutting,  hewing  trunk,  the  thun- 
dering timbers,  seemed  raised  and  moved  by  strange 
and  unseen  spirits. 

Through  the  pure  blue  sky  a  rushing  wind  passed, 
forming  its  own  Eolian  harp.  The  woods  and  moun- 
tains seemed  shaken  and  bent  by  invisible  spirits, 
and  the  outward  world  appeared  as  fluctuating  as  the 
inward  was  restless.  Upon  the  rocky  heights  were 
castles ;  in  the  gardens,  pleasure-houses.  Some- 
times on  the  rising  grounds  a  small  white  house 
appeared,  or  the  red-tiled  roof  of  a  cottage,  or  a  corn 
or  paper-mill  glanced  from  the  foliage.    Under  all 


102  WALT  AND  VüLT, 

these  roofs  there  might  be  fathers  and  daughters 
dwelling,  and  events  occurring  in  which  he  might 
take  a  part.    He  could  not  then  pass  them  unmoved.' 

As  a  second  road  cut  across,  forming  the  St. 
Andrew's  cross  of  fortune-tellers,*  the  old  traditions 
of  his  childhood  arose  fearfully  in  his  mind,  and 
moved  him  deeply.  He  appeared  to  stand  in  the 
centre  of  the  four  corners  of  the  earth,  from  whence 
he  discerned  the  distant  tribes  in  their  life's-course 
over  the  places.  Now  he  discovered  Joditz,  where, 
according  to  Vult's  dream,  he  must  dine.  It  appear- 
ed to  him  as  if  he  had  long  since  seen  it  —  the  stream 
encircling  the  village,  the  brook  running  through  it, 
the  wooded  hill  rising  perpendicularly  from  the  river, 
the  surrounding  birches  —  all  were  to  him  an  old 
familiar  picture.  Perhaps  the  dream-spirit  had  built 
such  a  village  in  the  air,  in  his  sleep,  and  suffered  it 
to  hover  before  him.  He  thought  not  of  this,  but  of 
the  strange  coincidences  in  nature,  willingly  giving 
resemblances  to  stones  and  clouds,  and  playing  with 
the  likeness  of  twins.       *  *  # 

Walt  continued  his  way  through  a  quiet  wood  into 
which  he  had  stepped  from  the  high  road,  and  de- 
scended a  gradually  narrowing  dell,  till  he  came  to 
the  silent  spot,  that  he  thus  describes  in  his  journal. 

"  The  rocks  on  each  side  pressed  so  nearly  to- 
gether, that  the  arms  of  the  trees  waving  on  their 
summits  embraced  each  other.    There  was  no  color 


*  The  cross  made  on  the  hand  by  fortune-tellers. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


103 


here  but  green  and  the  deep  blue  above.    The  birds, 
never  disturbed  in  this  their  own  abode,  nestled,  and 
fluttered,  and  sang  around  me.     Gushing  springs 
cooled  the  place,  for  no  air  found  its  way  therein. 
An  eternally  shaded  nnorning  dwells  there  ;  and 
every  wood-blossom  is  moist,  for  the  morning  dew 
rests  upon  it  till  the  evening  dew  falls.    So  securely 
enclosed,  so  secretly  in-built  is  this  green,  still  life  of 
nature,  there  is  no  bond  with  the  outward  world 
except  through  some  solitary  sun-beam,  that  at  noon- 
day unites  this  quiet  spot  with  the  all-pervading  sky. 
Wonderful,  that  the  deep  places  are  as  solitary  as  the 
mountain-tops.    Upon  Mount  Blanc,  which  rejoiced 
me  much.  De  Saussure  found  nothing  living,  but  a  day 
and  a  night  butterfly.    At  length  I  was  as  calm  as 
the  place,  and  slept ;  one  enchanting  dream  after 
another  folded  its  wings  over  me,  and  they  soon  be- 
came large  flower-petals,  upon  which  I  rocked  in 
sleep.    At  last  it  appeared  as  if  a  flute  called  me  by 
my  name,  and  my  brother  stood  close  to  my  bed.  I 
opened  my  eyes  ;  but  I  certainly  heard  a  flute.  I 
looked  at  the  summit  of  the  trees,  red  with  the  sun's 
beams,  and  recollected  with  alarm  my  journey  from 
Joditz,  the  prophesied  evening  in  Rosenhof,  and  that 
I  had  slept  a  whole  night  in  this  spot ;  for  I  thought 
the  glow  upon  the  trees  was  the  red  glow  of  morning. 
I  pressed  through  the  dewy  wood,  up  to  the  road 
again.    A  splendid  morning  landscape  appeared  to 
me  to  spread  its  glowing  wings  before  me,  and  raised 
my  heart  to  the  most  cheerful  devotion.    Wide  pine 


104 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


woods  on  the  hills  were  indeed  sown  with  yellowish 
red,  but  only  from  the  ravages  of  the  murderous  cat- 
erpillar, the  enemy  of  the  pine.  The  precious  sun 
was  where,  at  this  time  of  the  year,  it  would  be  at 
half-past  five  in  the  morning,  although  it  was,  truth 
to  say,  a  quarter-past  six  in  the  evening.  In  the 
meantime  I  looked  at  the  Lindenstatt  mountains, 
flooded  with  the  red  glare  of  the  opposite  sun,  which 
from  their  eastern  position,  had  it  been  morn- 
ing, should  have  stood  above  them.  I  remained  in 
perplexity,  although  the  sun  appeared  to  fall  rather 
than  to  rise,  till  a  young  and  thin  landscape-painter, 
with  a  sharp  and  beautiful  profile,  long  legs  and  steps, 
and  one  of  the  great  Prussian  hats,  would  have  pass- 
ed me,  with  a  painter's  portfolio  in  his  hand.  '  Good 
morning,  friend,'  I  said,  '  is  this  the  road  to  Rosen- 
hof,  and  how  far  is  it  ?  ' 

"  '  There,  immediately  behind  the  hills,  it  lies. 
You  can  reach  it  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour;  before  the 
sun  sets,  if  the  ferry-boat  happens  to  be  ready.' 

"  With  long  strides  the  painter  went  on.  I  called 
out  '  thanks  —  good  night.'  It  was  as  surprising  to 
me  as  if  the  earth  had  turned  backwards,  and  a 
great  shadow  had  passed  away  from  the  sun-light  of 
life,  that  it  was  now  evening  instead  of  morning."  * 
Thus  far  the  journal. 

Walt  stood  still  and  looked  around.  Unknown 


*  Because  of  the  adventure  he  expected  that  evening  in  Rosen- 
hof. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


105 


mountains  enclosed  a  long  plain  behind  him,  while 
before  him  storm-clouds  were  heaped  behind  hills 
that  seemed  to  bear  the  pines  playfully  on  their  heads. 
The  landscape-painter  had  seated  himself  upon  an 
eminence,  and  seemed  to  transfer  the  concealed  city 
of  Rosenhof  to  his  sketching  paper.  "  Ach  Gott  !  " 
thought  Walt,  "  now  I  understand  where  the  city  lies." 
As  he  ascended,  the  prospect  rose  before  him,  and  as 
he  stood  still,  near  the  position  the  painter  had  taken, 
at  the  first  glance  at  the  landscape  he  cried  out,  "  yes, 
that  is  worth  painting."  "I  sketch  merely,"  said  the 
painter,  and  bent  low,  without  looking  up,  over  his 
paper. 

Walt  remained  standing :  his  eye  swept  from  the 
broad  stream  of  the  Rosana,  at  his  feet,  upwards  to 
the  city,  and  rose  to  the  woody,  divided  summits  of 
the  mountain  above  the  city,  and  fell  again  upon  the 
ferry-boat  at  his  feet,  as  it  passed  between  two 
ropes,  from  shore  to  shore,  constantly  filled  with  new 
passengers,  with  men  and  wagons  and  horses ;  and 
his  eye  followed  the  river  down  its  course,  divided 
by  five  beautiful  islands,  and  burnished  by  the  even- 
ing sun. 

The  passengers  were  landed.  New  foot-passengers 
and  workmen  stepped  in,  but  they  waited,  as  it  seemed 
to  Walt,  for  him.  He  ran  down  and  sprang  upon  the 
boat.  But  still  it  waited,  and  he  looked  up  the  three 
roads  that  met  at  the  ferry.  At  last  he  saw,  in  the 
evening  sun-light,  an  elegant  travelling  carriage,  with 
four  post-horses  and  a  cloud  of  dust  roll  down  one  of 


106 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


the  roads.  Walt  rejoiced  at  this  accession,  for  there 
stood  ah'eady  upon  the  boat  a  wagoner's  car  and 
horses,  and  a  carriage  and  horses  would  make  the 
company  more  lively  and  various,  which  already 
consisted  of  a  throng  of  beggars,  messengers,  dogs 
and  children  ;  travelling  mechanics  and  apprentices, 
to  which  were  added  the  hay  women,*  the  Tyrolese 
and  beggar,  who  were  on  their  way,  the  accoucher 
and  the  painter  he  had  met  yesterday.  The  ferry- 
boat was  to  him  a  crowded  floating  market-place ;  a 
proud  ship  of  the  line  between  two  lines  of  ropes  ;  a 
Beaucentoro^  from  which  his  soul  threw  out  two  mar- 
riage rings,  one  for  the  sea-ward  stream,  the  other 
into  the  glowing  evening  sky.  He  more  than  half 
wished  that  the  passage  might  lead  to  some  danger, 
not  to  injure  others,  but  to  throw  a  more  vivid  life  into 
the  scene. 

There  stepped  from  the  carriage,  before  it  touched 
the  narrow  edge  of  the  boat,  a  dignified  person,  who 
said,  with  the  proud  reserve  belonging  to  his  station, 
that  he  could  not  trust  his  own  horses  on  board. 
Walt,  in  the  jubilee  of  his  heart,  placed  himself,  with- 
out any  distinguishing  politeness,  before  him,  for  he 
saw  at  once  that  it  was  general  Zablocki.  The  latter, 
through  frequent  journeying,  accustomed  to  such  re- 
cognitions, bowed  a  calm  satisfaction  at  meeting  his 
erotic  secretary  again. 

*  Grummet-women.  These  are  old  women  who  go  out  to  cut 
the  after-growth  of  the  grass,  when  the  scythe  has  done  its  work. 
They  carry  it  in  great  bundles  on  the  head. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


107 


The  long  post-train,  at  length,  stamped  upon  the 
boat  with  the  carriage  behind.  Walt  trembled  as  he 
looked  up,  for  Zablocki's  beautiful  daughter  sat 
therein.  Her  eyes  were  fixed  upon  the  five  islands 
that  the  setting  sun  bathed  in  a  rose-colored  light. 
A  mere  acquaintance  of  Walt's  had  been  to  him, 
meeting  on  this  strange  ground,  like  a  brother ;  but 

now  this  silent,  beloved  form  it  gave  him  an 

emotion  of  soul,  such  as  no  dream,  and  no  waking 
phantasie  had  ever  prophesied. 

Walt  stood  at  the  east  side  of  the  carriage  with  his 
eyes  cast  down,  lest  she  should  turn  hers  round  and 
be  disturbed  at  his ;  although  he  immediately  knew 
that,  blinded  by  the  sun,  Wina  at  first  would  see 
nothing  distinctly,  and  he  thought,  that  probably  she 
had  never  looked  attentively  at  him,  so  as  to  recog- 
nise him  again.  He  saw  not  the  sun,  nor  the  lovely 
islands  himself,  but  created  and  enjoyed  the  view 
through  the  silent  dream  with  which  Wina  appeared 
to  rest  upon  them,  and  he  added  a  thousand  wishes 
that  they  might  appear  to  her  more  splendid,  more 
heavenly,  than  they  really  ever  could  be. 

It  seemed  to  Walt  that  the  horizontal  sun-beams 
imparted  to  the  river  and  the  boat,  to  men  and  dogs, 
the  colors  of  youth,  that  they  gilded  every  beggar's 
stafl^"  and  silvered  their  years  and  their  ha.ir.  But  he 
gave  not  much  attention  to  them,  for  the  sun  also 
surrounded  Wina  with  a  halo  like  that  of  the  saints, 
and  changed  the  roses  of  her  cheeks  to  the  roses  of 
paradise.  The  boat  was  to  him  a  sweet  tone  vibrating 


108 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


on  the  sounding-board  of  life ;  the  enchanted  ship  of 
eastern  lands ;  Charon's  boat,  bearing  him  from 
Tartarus  to  the  Elysian  shores.  He  appeared  to 
himself  strange,  unrecognisable,  immortal,  for  the 
neighborhood  of  Wina  threw  a  transfiguration  upon 
him. 

A  cripple  would  have  related  to  him  something  of 
his  necessities,  but  Walt  did  not  now  understand  him. 
He  felt  an  aversion  to  the  man  who,  on  such  an  even- 
ing, was  not  blessed.  An  evening  when  the  hitherto 
troubled  Wina  had  become  cheerful,  and  the  sun,  like 
a  warm  sister's  hand,  rested  upon  the  heart  that  in 
many  dark  hours  had  been  oppressed  with  sorrow. 

Oh,  that  the  evening  had  no  end,  thought  Walt, 
or  the  Rosana  was  all  breadth,  or  that  they  had  ship- 
ped upon  its  length  to  bear  them  to  the  sea,  and  on,  to 
the  ever  descending  western  sun. 

The  sun  had  now  gone  below  the  stream.  Wina 
turned  her  eyes  slowly  from  the  earth,  and  they  fell 
accidentally  upon  Walt.  He  would  have  thrown  a 
greeting  full  of  respectful  words  into  the  carriage, 
but  the  boat  shot  violently  back  from  the  shore  and 
scattered  what  he  had  prepared. 

The  carriage  was  carefully  drawn  to  land.  Walt 
gave  four  groschen  for  his  fare.  "  For  whom  these  ?  " 
asked  the  ferryman.  "  For  who  will,"  said  Walt ; 
and  thereupon  more  than  too  many  sprang,  without 
paying,  to  land.  The  general  wished  to  walk  through 
this  beautiful  city  of  gardens ;  Walt  remained  near 
him.    The  latter  asked  if  he  had  not  yesterday  met 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


109 


a  company  of  comedians.  He  informed  the  general 
that  they  would  this  evening  play  in  Rosenhof. 
*'  Good,"  said  he,  "  you  will  sup  with  me  this  even- 
ing at  the  Pomegranate.  You  rest  there  to  night, 
I  hope,  and  in  the  morning  see,  in  my  society,  the 
splendid  groups  of  rocks  that  appear  above  the 
city." 

His  delight  at  this  rich  gift  of  fortune,  Walt  ex- 
presses thus  shortly  in  his  journal.  "  How  I  expressed 
my  joy,  thou,  dear  brother,  can  better  imagine  than 
I  can  tell  thee  !  " 


No.  46.    Primitive  Garnet. 


110 


WALT  AND  VÜLT, 


CHAPTER  XV. 


CHARTREUSE   OF  THE  IMAGINATON.  BON-MOTS. 


It  would  be  dilFicult  to  find  anything  more  refresh- 
ing, than  to  walk,  upon  a  beautiful  evening,  with 
general  Zablocki  behind  the  carriage  of  his  daughter, 
in  the  lovely  city  of  Rosenhof,  wreathed  on  both 
sides  with  gardens  of  roses,  and  without  anxiety  for 
the  supper  which  was  to  follow  ;  and  then  to  look 
from  the  broad,  clean,  hospitable  streets,  and  the 
lightly  passing  occupations  and  amusements  of  life, 
to  the  dark,  immovable  mountain  heights  above,  that 
look  down  from  their  cold,  tranquil  summits,  upon 
the  houses  and  towers  of  an  ever-changing  life. 
Walt  was  particularly  delighted  with  the  shaded 
street  where  the  Pomegranate  was  situated.  "  To 
me,"  he  said,  excited  and  eloquent,  "it  appears  as 
though  I  were  in  Chalcis  in  Euboea,  or  in  some  other 
Grecian  city,  where  there  were  so  many  trees  in  the 
streets,  they  could  not  see  the  city.  Can  there  be  a 
more  beautiful  union  of  city  and  country  than  here, 
your  excellency  ?  Is  not  the  thought  also  charming 
that  here,  at  a  far  distant  time,  here,  as  in  Montpellier, 
all  the  place  was  covered  with  roses,  and  all  the  in- 
habitants reposed  upon  roses,  although  just  now 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


Ill 


nothing  remains  but  the  thorns  eh,  Herr  Gene- 
ral ?  " 

The  General,  who  had  not  heard  a  word,  cried  out 
to  his  coachman  a  heavy  curse,  because  he  had  driven 
his  carriage  almost  fast  to  the  wheel  of  the  Fränzel 
wagon.  "These  are  the  actors,"  said  Walt,  and 
proceeded  to  demand  of  the  Host  a  chamber  for 
himself.  He  easily  obtained  an  excellent  one,  as 
they  took  him  for  the  secretary  of  Zablocki,  which 
in  fact  he  was,  so  far  as  the  erotic  memoirs  went. 
He  was  astonished,  when  shewn  into  his  room,  at  the 
ostentation  of  the  furniture,  and  was  scarcely  prepar- 
ed to  place  his  beggar's  staff  with  his  hat  upon  the 
great  mirrored  table.  He  walked  up  and  down  in 
the  utmost  delight  of  soul  at  such  unusual  luxuries ; 
the  paper  hangings,  the  three  mirrors,  the  commode, 
ornamented  with  brass  work,  the  window-shades 
upon  rollers ;  and,  to  complete  the  whole,  a  bell  to 
call  the  servant.  He  rang,  for  the  first  time  in  his 
life  ;  determined  to  be  wholly  a  gentleman.  He 
desired  the  servant  to  bring  him  a  flask  of  wine,  that 
he  might  live  one  evening  enjoying  life  as  the  trou- 
badours used  formerly  to  do.  "  Troubadours,*'  he 
said  to  himself  as  he  sipped  his  wine,  "  often  slept  in 
gilded,  princely  chambers,  when  perhaps  they  had 
lodged  the  night  before  in  moss  or  straw  huts.  Like 
the  tones  of  their  harps,  they  pressed  through  high 
and  thick  walls,  and  then  were  accustomed  to  repeat 
to  the  most  beautiful  ladies  of  high  rank  their  song  of 
faithful  love,  and,  like  Petrarch,  love  them  in  ever- 


112 


WALT  AND  VTTLT, 


lasting  verse  —  but  never  desire  them  for  them- 
selves,"—  he  added,  and  looked  at  the  wall  of  the  — 
General. 

Zablocki's  chamber  was  only  divided  from  his  by 
a  doublc-boltcd  door  in  the  wall  of  his  own.  Walk- 
ing up  and  down,  (for  standing  to  listen  he  deemed 
dishonorable,)  he  could  hear  every  violent  word  of 
the  General  to  his  servants,  and  the  sweet  tones  into 
which  Wina,  like  an  Eolian  harp,  converted  the 
storm-wind,  so  that  discord  became  music.  Although 
Walt  had  hoped  in  the  large  public  room  beneath  to 
meet  Jacobine  again,  and  renew  his  old  acquaintance, 
yet  he  felt  it  far  more  blessed  to  remain  as  a  guard 
near  the  chamber  of  the  nun,  Wina,  and  represent  to 
himself  her  large,  overshadowed  eyes,  her  gentleness, 
and  lovely  voice,  and  the  evening  repast  he  expected 
to  take  near  her. 

At  length  he  heard  the  General  say  he  was  going 
to  the  theatre,  and  Wina  request  to  be  left  at  home. 
Afterwards  she  gave  her  chamber-maid,  the  profane 
songstress  Lucia,  permission  to  walk  out,  and  amuse 
herself  in  the  city.    All  then  was  quiet. 

Walt  looked  from  the  window  out  upon  hers. 
,Wina's  shutters  were  open,  (they  opened  upon  the 
street,)  and  the  light  from  her  chamber  threw  a  sha- 
dow upon  the  sign  of  the  hotel,  that  hung  opposite. 
As  he  could  see  nothing  further,  he  turned  back  into 
his  own  room,  and  there,  walking,  sipping,  and  dream- 
ing—  "Oh!  I  am  so  happy!"  he  thought,  and 
looked  around  to  find  a  poor's-box  screwed  upon  the 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


113 


tapestried  wall ;  for  he  never  forgot,  in  his  moments 
of  joy,  to  deposite  as  much  as  he  was  able,  in  these 
unknown  and  silent  voices  of  sorrow.  But  the  cham- 
ber was  too  elegant  for  charity. 

It  was  now  quite  dark.  The  early  harvest-moon 
stood  like  a  silver  diadem  upon  one  of  the  mountain- 
heads.  The  waiter  came  with  lights.  "  I  shall  need 
none  ;  I  shall  sup  with  the  general,"  said  Walt. 
He  wished  to  keep  the  moon-light  an  hour  longer. 
One,  after  another  of  the  scribbled  sentences  of  pre- 
vious travellers  were  brought  out  as  the  moon  moved 
on.  Walt  read,  not  without  satisfaction,  the  whole 
wall  through  of  this  youthful  literature,  which  collect- 
ively, with  the  lead-pencil  in  hand,  commended  love 
and  friendship,  and  expressed  deep  contempt  for  the 
world.  "  I  know  as  well  as  another,"  he  wrote  in 
his  journal,  "  that  it  is  ridiculous,  if  not  unfair,  to 
write  on  strange  chamber  walls ;  yet  the  aftercomer 
is  delighted  to  find  that  one  has  been  there  before 
him,  and  has  left  a  light  trace  of  the  unknown,  for 
the  unknown.  Indeed,  many  leave  only  the  name 
and  date,  but  to  a  benevolent  man  even  an  empty 
name  is  dear,  without  which,  a  departing  traveller 
remains  more  an  idea  than  a  comprehensible  being, 
less  a  man  than  an  airy,  indeed  wholly  ethereal  hu- 
manity. And  why  should  we  rather  read  and  pardon 
an  empty  thought  than  an  empty  name But  there 
are  often  valuable  sentences,  such  as  the  following, 
'  We  believe  always  that  we  are  in  the  middle  of 

VOL.  II.  8 


114 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


the  material  hemisphere,  but  in  our  inward  and  men- 
tal view  we  believe  ourselves  always  upon  the  hori- 
zon ;  at  the  rising  sun,  when  we  are  happy,  at  the 
west,  or  declining  sun,  when  we  are  sorrowful.' " 
At  last  Walt  ventured  to  connect  his  own  and 
Wina's  initials,  "  W.  W.,  Sep.  179-."  He  looked 
again  towards  her  window.  Three  fingers,  and  the 
rim  of  a  white  hat  projected  on  the  window-sill. 
Upon  these  he  could  live  and  dream.  The  beautiful 
form  of  the  quiet  maiden,  completed  from  the  three 
fingers,  hovered  like  the  motes  in  sun-beams,  in  the 
broad  moon-light  of  the  apartment,  and  he  enjoyed 
the  repast  in  anticipation,  which  would  disappoint  him 
in  reality.  Joy  flew  in,  like  purple  butterflies,  and 
the  floor  of  his  room  seemed  to  him  carpeted  with 
flowers.    Three-quarters  of  an  hour  thus  passed. 

But  man,  with  a  huge  joy-cup  at  his  lips,  thirsts 
for  a  greater,  and  at  last  for  the  whole  cask.  Walt 
began  to  have  the  thought,  that  he  could,  without  any 
impropriety,  accept  the  father's  invitation,  and  place 
himself  at  this  moment  near  the  solitary  Wina.  He 
was  frightened  at  the  thought ;  blushed  with  shame 
and  joy,  walked  up  and  down  more  softly,  listened, 
and  found  that  Wina  was  walking  also.  His  pur- 
pose, with  every  succeeding  moment  expanded  its 
roots  and  its  flowers ;  but  after  an  hour  of  contest 
and  delicate  excuses  for  the  temerity  of  his  appear- 
ance, the  debate  was  closed  by  the  entrance  of  the 
general  into  his  daughter's  apartment,  and  Walt 
hearing  his  own  name  called.    He  drew  the  bolt 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


115 


from  the  door  of  communication,  when  Zablocki 
called  out,  "this  one  is  closed."  Feeling  his  indeli- 
cacy, he  entered  by  the  public  door,  blushing  also  at 
the  consciousness  of  his  own  wild  dreams.  Half  blind- 
ed by  the  glare  of  light,  he  saw  the  slender  form  of 
Wina,  standing  like  a  flower-goddess  near  the  genial 
Bacchus,  who  had  a  cheerful  warmth  in  every  fea- 
ture. The  daughter  looked  at  him  continually, 
pleased  at  his  own  joy.  The  servants  must  come  upon 
wings  with  the  supper.  Walt  moved  upon  his  own, 
through  this  magical  cabinet,  his  weight  not  more 
than  that  of  fire  butterflies,  so  ethereal  was  the  pre- 
sent moment,  and  the  whole  of  life  in  prospect. 

He  placed  himself  with  far  more  facility  and  po- 
liteness at  the  supper-table,  than  he  could  have 
thought  possible.  The  general,  who  desired  a  con- 
tinual conversation,  or  rather  talking,  thought  it  was 
Walt's  part  to  relate  something  amusing.  It  would 
have  been  much  easier,  at  that  time,  to  have  said 
something  touching.  Nothing  occurred  to  him.  Few 
things  are  more  difficult  than  extemporising  the  me- 
mory. It  is  much  easier  to  improvise  the  pointed  and 
profound ;  to  imagine,  than  to  recollect ;  especially  if  at 
the  same  time  upon  all  the  eminences  of  the  brain  the 
fire  of  joy  is  kindled.  AValt  could  have  instantly  re- 
peated three  thousand  bon-mots,  had  he  only  heard  one 
from  the  lips  of  another ;  but  they  never  occurred^rsi 
to  himself,  and  he  was  ashamed  of  them,  when  he  heard 
them  afterwards  repeated.  Scarcely  was  this  shame 
necessary ;  for  the  packet-boats  of  the  foreign  wit  of 


116 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


society,  bear  unusually  shallow  brains  ;  upon  whose 
surface,  the  flowers  of  wit  never  take  root  and  grow, 
that  have  been  gathered  and  stuck  in. 

' "  I  shall  recollect  something,"  Walt  answered  to 
a  look  of  Zablocki's,  and  besought  God  for  a  single 
joke  ;  for  he  found  he  could  only  think  of  thinking, 
and  of  the  possibility  of  remembering.  Wina,  with 
considerate  kindness,  handed  her  father  the  flask, 
which  he,  alone,  could  unseal  (his  letters  were  un- 
sealed by  her).  "  Do  you  think  this  is  the  growth 
of  48  or  of  83  ? "  asked  the  general,  as  he  filled 
Walt's  glass.  Walt  drank  with  his  soul  upon  his 
tongue,  and  sought  furtively  to  look  upon  the  No. 
upon  the  caption  of  the  bottle  ;  "  It  may  indeed," 
Zablocki  continued,  "  be  considered  rather  young." 
Walt  looked  in  his  glass.  "  It  is  indeed  splendid 
wine  at  83  years  old,"  he  said.  Zablocki  laughed  ; 
instead  of  hearing  an  anecdote,  he  had  lived  one, 
which  he  could  easily  make  go  further. 

The  general  drew  him  from  his  inward  search 
after  hon-mots^  with  the  question  why  he  came  to 
Rosenhof.  Walt  knew  no  real,  ostensible  cause, 
(although  this  sat  opposite  to  him  dressed  in  white,) 
except  his  love  of  nature  and  pleasure  in  journeying. 
But  as  there  luere  no  objects  of  business,  Zablocki 
did  not  understand  him,  but  believed  he  concealed 
his  purposes  behind  some  mountain,  and  was  deter- 
mined to  get  behind  it  also.  Walt,  thus  urged,  shook 
from  his  poetical  wings  upon  the  table-cloth  the  cost- 
ly hills  and  valleys  and  trees  with  which  they  had 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


117 


been  loaded,  as  he  flew  through  the  heavenly  way. 
Zablocki,  after  Walt's  long  expense  of  pictures,  cried 
out,  "  The  devil !  take  something,  for  else,  I  cannot 
eat."  Wina,  to  Avhom  in  his  quick  anger  he  had 
turned  for  relief —  for  fathers  are  less  apt  to  throw 
the  blame  of  an  uncongenial  companion  on  their 
daughters,  than  men  on  their  wives  —  Wina,  frighten- 
ed, took  a  great  piece  of  woodcock,  the  favorite  lux- 
ury of  her  father,  and  handed,  more  politely  than 
Zablocki,  the  plate  to  the  perplexed  Walt,  in  order  to 
spare  him  a  hundred  embarrassments. 

Walt  could  not  understand  how,  in  the  midst  of 
such  an  eloquent  and  living  picture,  as  he  had  just 
presented,  of  living,  almost  speaking  nature,  a  wood- 
cock could  be  supposed  to  make  a  sensation.  Poetic 
natures  like  Walt's,  if  found  in  northern  countries, 
(for  a  court,  or  the  great  world  is  the  natural  north 
of  the  soul,  as  the  physical  north  is  the  glacier 
of  the  body,)  are  like  elephant's  teeth  in  Siberia, 
thrown,  incomprehensibly  in  a  country  where  the  ele- 
phant himself  would  perish  with  cold. 

With  an  insinuating  voice  Zablocki  asked  again  if 
nothing  had  occurred  to  him,  and  Wina  looked  so 
beseechingly  at  him,  that  he  w^ould  have  suffered  in- 
expressibly, if  an  anecdote  had  not  just  then  occurred 
to  him.  But  after  his  reprieve,  he  was  near  forget- 
ting all  again,  for  the  child-like,  beseeching  eye  of 
Wina  took  possession  of  his  fancy,  memory,  and 
soul. 

"  A  cabinet-minister  who  was  hard  of  hearing, 


118 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


listened,  while  at  the  table  of  his  prince  "  —  "  What 
was  his  name  ?  "  asked  Zablocki.  Walt  did  not 
know.  "  A  minister  who  was  deaf,  heard  at  the 
table  of  his  prince  a  comic  anecdote  related,  and 
laughed  with  the  whole  table  immoderately,  although 
he  heard  not  a  word.  Then  he  proposed  to  relate 
one,  quite  as  amusing,  and  to  the  astonishment  of  the 
whole  company,  the  very  same  they  had  just  heard 
was  repeated  as  a  new  one." 

The  general  believed  he  had  not  caught  the  point 
of  the  story,  and  continued  to  listen  after  it  was  fin- 
ished —  but  somewhat  later  he  cried  out  "  delicious  " 
—  laughed  out  clearly  again,  two  minutes  afterwards, 
for  he  required  this  time  to  go  through  the  anecdote 
again,  and  represent  it  extensively  to  himself.  Men 
do  not  like  that  the  pointy  the  blank-point  of  a  story 
should  sit  too  easily  near  the  threshold.  An  ordinary 
anecdote  strikes  him  suddenly  and  happily  with  its 
result,  if  he  has  been  drawn  wearisomely  into  listen- 
ing to  it.  We  would  have  histories  long,  opinions 
short. 

Walt  tried  his  second  anonymous  anecdote  of  a 
Dutchman,  who  would  purchase  a  country-house  on 
account  of  the  splendid  prospect  of  the  sea,  as  all 
the  world  about  him  was  too  poor  to  possess  it.  This 
man,  however,  loved  prospects  to  such  a  degree,  that 
he  was  willing  to  overcome  every  difficulty  to  obtain 
one  sufficiently  extensive.  He  therefore  built  a  short 
wall  upon  a  hill  that  overlooked  the  sea,  with  a  win- 
dow in  the  centre,  where  he  could  sit  in  his  leisure 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


119 


moments  and  enjoy  the  same  prospect  that  his  neigh- 
bors enjoyed  freely  from  their  houses  and  gardens.* 

Even  Wina  laughed  under  the  shadow  of  her  hat 
at  this  folly.  The  general  praised  Walt,  and  went 
cheerfully  from  the  apartment  ;  but  he  did  not  re- 
turn. 

No.  47.  Titanium. 


*  The  third  anecdote  is  omitted 


120 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  ROSENHOF  NIGHT.  . 

Neither  Jacobine  nor  the  general  made  a  secret 
of  their  mutual  inclination  for  each  other's  society. 
The  relations  of  neither  can  institute  juristical  pro- 
ceedings against  the  author  of  the  Twins,  if  he  coldly 
relates  that  Zablocki  had  gone  to  walk  in  the  next 
garden,  where  the  actress  was  laudably  studying  her 
part  of  Joanna  Montfaucon  in  the  open  air. 

*  *  *  *  * 

Walt's  face  became  rose-color  when  at  length  the 
father  did  not  return,  and  he  was  alone  with  Wina. 
Her  eyes,  that  were  like  sweet  flowers  under  the 
broad  leaf  of  the  eye-lid,  were  cast  down  upon  the 
work,  a  child's  glove,  which  she  was  knitting.  The 
fear  began  to  seize  Walt,  that,  as  the  finder  and 
restorer  of  her  letter  to  the  count,  she  would  look 
upon  him  with  aversion.  He  did  not  venture  to  look 
often  at  her,  lest  she  should  accidentally  raise  her 
eyes  to  his.  Both  were  silent.  Woman's  silence, 
although  it  is  less  frequent,  signifies  much  more  than 
man's. 

The  exciting  effect  which  the  wine  would  have 
had  in  other  circumstances  upon  the  notary,  was 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


121 


kept  down  by  his  desire  to  appear  well  in  this  refined 
society ;  at  the  same  time  the  situation  would  have 
been  most  agreeable,  if  every  moment,  he  had  not 
had  the  fear  that  it  would  be  the  last  moment. 

At  length  he  looked  long  and  intently  upon  the 
child's  glove,  and  was  so  happy  as  to  draw  from  it  a 
thread  for  converstion.  He  said  he  had  often  looked, 
for  long  hours,  upon  knitting,  but  could  never  under- 
stand it. 

"  It  is,  however,  very  easy,  Mr.  Harnish,"  said 
Wina,  not  sportively,  but  unembarrassed,  and  without 
looking  up. 

The  address,  Mr.  Harnish,  chased  Walt's  emotion 
again  back  into  the  silent  hermitage  of  thought. 

"  How  does  it  happen,"  he  said,  at  length  ventur- 
ing again  to  take  up  the  knitting  thread,  "  that  nothing 
is  so  touching  as  the  little  parts  of  the  dress  of  child- 
ren —  such  as  this  —  their  little  hats,  shoes  ?  It  comes 
indeed  to  the  same  question  —  why  do  we  love  them 
so  much  ?  " 

"  It  is  perhaps,"  said  Wina,  and  she  raised  her 
calm,  full  eyes  to  the  notary,  who  stood  before  her, 
"  because  they  are  innocent  angels  upon  the  earth, 
and  yet  suffer  many  pains." 

Lucia  entered.  Wina  asked  if  the  general  had 
left  any  commands  ?  Lucia  knew  nothing,  except 
that  he  was  walking  in  the  adjoining  garden.  Wina 
stepped  hastily  to  the  window,  drew  a  breath  like  a 
sigh,  and  said  quickly,  "  my  veil,  Lucia,  and  you 
know  certainly  he  is  there,  and  the  way  to  the  garden 


122 


WALT  AND  VULT 


also."  With  a  voice  softer  than  that  of  a  Moravian, 
sister  Lucia  answered,  "  Ja,  Gnädigste."  * 

Wina  threw  the  veil  over  her  head,  and  while 
behind  this  woven  air,  this  evanescent  summer,  she 
looked  indescribably  blooming  and  charming,  she 
said,  with  gentle  hesitation,  "  Dear  Mr.  Harnish,  you 
also  love,  as  I  hear,  nature  and  my  good  father  ?  " 

Walt  had  already  flow^n  for  his  hat  and  stick,  and 
stood  armed  and  ready  for  a  journey,  and  followed 
them  both  down  stairs.  He  felt  wholly  justified  in 
leaving  an  apartment,  that  was  not  his  ow^n,  in  this 
manner,  but  when  he  came  near  the  steps,  a  contest 
began  within  him,  whether  he  durst  walk  with  either, 
or  whether  he  should  follow  after  both.  Wina  could 
not  call  him  to  her,  even  if  she  desired  it,  and  the 
contest  lasted  till  they  had  descended  the  steps. 
Then  he  decided  to  go  with  them,  and  placed  his  hat 
on  his  head,  but  he  trembled  not  so  much  from  fear 
or  from  joy,  but  from  an  anticipation  mingled  of  both. 
Ah,  it  is  an  absurd  but  pure  period  in  life,  when  in 
the  youth,  the  old  French  knighthood,  with  all  its 
sacred  reverence,  is  revived;  when  the  boldest  are 
precisely  the  most  timid,  as  his  virgin  love  has  de- 
scended, a  heaven-born  form  from  heaven  ;  her  neigh- 
borhood is  the  sacred  circle  of  a  higher  world,  and 
the  touch  of  her  hand  is,  to  him,  a  gift.  Wretched, 
guilty,  must  be  the  youth,  who  is  never  timid  in  the 
presence  of  beauty. 


*  YeSj  most  gracious. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


123 


The  three  went  through  a  shaded  avenue  to  the 
garden.  The  moon  sketched  every  trembling  twig, 
and  also  the  waving  line  of  the  chain  of  hills,  upon  the 
lighted  foot-path.  As  they  walked,  Lucia  described 
the  beauty  of  the  garden,  and  particularly  that  of  an 
arbor  entwined  wholly  with  blue  flowers ;  blue  gen- 
tian, blue  veronica,  blue  asters  and  berth-wort,  were 
crossed  and  woven  into  a  little  dome,  in  which  there 
was  in  the  autumn  no  cloud,  that  is,  no  faded  flower, 
but  open  calix  and  ether  cups. 

"  If  flowers  live  and  sleep,"  said  Walt,  after  this 
introduction,  "they  must  certainly  dream,  as  well  as 
children  and  animals.  All  beings  must,  in  fact, 
dream."  "  The  saints  and  the  angels  ?  "  asked 
Wina.  "  I  should  indeed  say  yes,"  answered  Walt, 
"  in  so  far  as  all  beings  aspire,  they  must  dream  of 
something  higher."  "  One  being  must  be  excepted," 
said  Wina.  "  Certainly,  God  does  not  dream.  But, 
if  I  again  think  of  the  flowers  secluded,  in  their  tender 
envelope,  a  hidden  flower,  may  dream  of  expanding 
in  the  light  of  day.  Their  perfumed  souls  are  to  us 
wrapped  in  darkness,  not  merely  by  the  enveloping 
leaves,  but  in  truth  organically  concealed,  as  are  our 
souls,  and  not  merely  closed  by  the  eye-lids  in  sleep. 
If  the  smallest  trace  of  daylight  renews  their  colored 
existence  and  gives  them  new  power,  why  may  they 
not,  in  the  night,  enjoy  a  dreaming  reflection  of  the 
day  ?  The  all-seeing  will  know,  and  separate  the 
dream  of  a  rose  from  that  of  a  lily.  The  rose  might 
dream  of  the  bee,  the  lily  of  the  butterfly.    It  seems 


124 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


to  me  certain  the  forget-mc-not  would  dream  of  a 
sun-beam ;  the  tuhp  of  a  butterfly  ;  many  flowers  of 
zephyrs.  For  where  then  can  God's,  or  the  spiritual 
world  cease  ?  For  him  the  cup  of  a  flower  may  be 
a  heart,  and  many  a  heart  a  flower-cup  !  " 

As  Wina  continued  to  grow  more  silent,  Walt 
became  more  eloquent,  and  inspired  himself  with  the 
baptismal  water  which  he  poured  over  every  moun- 
tain and  star,  as  they  passed  before  him.  There 
were  few  beautiful  objects  that  he  had  not  the  power, 
as  they  passed  before  him,  of  describing  and  height- 
ening. He  felt  so  happy,  so  elevated,  it  seemed  to 
him  the  whole  universe  was  his  own,  that  he  could 
possess  and  rob  it  of  all ;  that  he  could  seize  the 
stars,  and  form  a  wreath,  which,  like  white  flowers, 
should  rest  upon  Wina's  head  and  hand.  The  less 
he  was  interrupted  and  checked,  the  more  elevated 
became  his  thoughts,  so  that  at  last  the  whole  world 
seemed  to  grow  up  and  be  formed  by  himself. 
Lucia  who  had  hitherto  hummed  softly  worldly  songs, 
paused,  as  in  reverence,  for  the  words  of  God  ! 

Just  at  the  moment  they  passed  before  a  little 
chapel  completely  overshadowed  with  leaves,  the  bell 
for  evening  mass  sounded.  Wina  passed  slowly  as 
though  embarrassed,  paused,  and  said  something 
softly  in  Lucia's  ear.  Walt  was  too  near  her  soul 
not  to  see  into  it.  He  passed  quickly  on,  to  leave 
her  to  pray,  and  secretly  to  follow  her  example. 

He  had  heard  Lucia  tell  Wina  that  onwards  on 
the  left,  above  the  dark  arbor,  was  the  blue.  Here 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


125 


he  resolvecl  to  wait  for  Wina.  As  he  drew  near, 
Jacobine  flew  out  of  the  arbor  and  threw  a  shawl 
sportively  over  his  head,  and  seizing  the  corners  drew 
him  onwards  to  enjoy,  as  she  said,  the  splendid  night 
by  his  side. 

Although  he  could  not  have  anticipated  with  what 
bold  parodies  the  incidents  of  human  life  are  often 
thrown  into  the  wildest  contrasts,  and  disunite  man 
with  his  wishes,  the  pleasantry  and  the  freedom 
opposed  the  whole  course  of  his  higher  emotions. 
He  explained  hastily  to  the  actress  why,  and  with 
whom  he  was  there,  and  looked  significantly  at  the 
chapel,  as  though  he  was  expected  there.  Jacobine 
joked  flatteringly  with  him  upon  his  good  fortune 
with  ladies,  and  olosed  his  mouth  through  the  over 
fullness  of  his  heart.  While  he  sought  to  oppose  her 
pleasantry  with  the  same  weapons,  and  was  inwardly 
reflecting  with  what  pretence,  without  a  real  incivility, 
he  could  shake  off  the  arm  of  Jacobine,  he  saw  from 
the  entrance  of  the  garden  the  general  come  to  meet 
his  daughter,  and  very  lovingly  take  her  hand  within 
his  arm.  Thus,  with  that  angel  and  the  stars  above, 
he  went  towards  the  house. 

Ah !  thought  Walt,  how  quickly  the  happy  stars  of 
men  go  down,  and  looked  towards  the  mountain, 
where,  in  the  morning,  he  hoped  a  star  might  again 
arise.  His  thoughts  were  not  sufficiently  free  for 
him  to  ask  Jabobine  whether  she  enjoyed  the  charm 
of  the  beautiful  night She  flew  coldly  from  him 
towards  the  house,  and  vanished  upon  the  steps.  He 


126 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


needed  nothing  this  night  for  his  waking  dreams,  but 
a  pillow  and  a  little  piece  of  moonlight  upon  his  bed. 
Soon  after  mid-night,  while  he  dreamed,  night  music 
began  to  play  under  his  window,  drawn  from  wind 
instruments  by  Zablocki's  people. 

The  street  was  immediately  converted  into  a  fine 
Italian  city,  where  he  had  carried  and  set  down  the 
little  Loretto  house,  after  the  flash  of  sound  had 
passed  up,  as  upon  the  wire  of  a  lightning  conductor, 
and  struck  upon  his  ear ;  and  he  had  imagined  the 
stars  and  the  moon  leaving  the  music  of  the  spheres, 
and  moving  to  the  sound  of  this  earthly  harmony. 
At  this  moment  Jacobine,  who,  he  fancied,  just  before 
that  he  heard  whispering  in  the  next  chamber,  flut- 
tered in  at  the  door,  and  to  the  window,  with  unre- 
strained impatience  to  listen  to  the  music,  without 
heeding  his  presence. 

Walt  knew  not  at  first  whether  he  should  remain 
quietly  in  his  bed,  or  slip  out  of  the  room.  However, 
he  slipped  himself  secretly  and  softly,  out  of  his  pillow 
into  his  clothes  and  behind  the  listener.  Like  kindled 
flax  he  had  risen  to  higher  regions,  without  knowing 
the  way  he  had  taken.  Not  that  he  feared  for  her 
or  himself,  but  he  knew  enough  of  the  world  to 
anticipate  the  kissing  of  the  Parterre  at  every  bold 
maiden,  a  misfortune  from  which  to  spare  her,  or  any 
other  woman,  he  would  willingly  have  been  himself 
hunted  by  the  trumpet  of  infamy.  He  hesitated, 
therefore,  whether  he  should  not  slip  from  his  room, 
and  wait  till  the  actress  reiurned  to  hers. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


127 


She  heard  three  sighs  —  turned  round,  and  found 
that  Walt  stood  behind  her.  To  his  great  joy  Jacobine 
excused  her  appearance  there  (for  he  began  to  fear 
that  his  own  presence  in  his  own  chamber  must  need 
an  excuse)  by  saying,  that  when  she  heard  the  dis- 
tant music  she  thought,  as  the  bolt  was  not  drawn, 
that  she  had  entered  an  unoccupied  chamber  to  listen 
to  the  music  from  a  nearer  window.  Walt  swore 
that  no  human  being  could  have  a  better  opinion  of 
her  than  himself.  But  Jacobine  could  not,  even  with 
this  assertion,  believe  that  her  purity  was  sufficiently 
established.  She  went  on  to  represent  to  him,  speak- 
ing very  loud  under  the  noise  of  the  music,  how 
intensely  she  felt  music  ;  that  night  music  especially 
penetrated  her  very  soul,  and  excited  her  beyond  all 
control ;  that  on  the  evening  of  fasts  and  festivals  she 
was  even  more  excited,  perhaps  because  her  nervous 
sensibility  was  then  more  susceptible  of  impressions ; 
that  she  could  never  remain  in  her  bed  when  she 
heard  music,  and  that  often,  as  now,  she  had  thrown 
the  first  napkin  she  could  find  over  her  shoulders,  to 
run  to  an  open  window  to  listen  to  the  sweet  sounds. 

During  this  speech  a  foreign  flute  had  mingled  so 
strangely  with,  that  it  travestied  the  other  music,  and 
the  musicians  thought  it  more  agreeable  to  suspend 
their  own  and  listen  to  the  flute.  Jacobine  continued 
to  speak  as  loud  as  before,  apparently  without  being 
aware  of  it.  "  Music,"  she  said,  "  inspires  us  with 
feelings  that  neither  male  nor  female  friend  can  im- 
part to  the  soul." 


128 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


"  Somewhat  lower,  dearest  creature  !  for  heaven's 
sake  speak  lower,"  said  Walt,  for  these  last  words 
had  been  pronounced  after  the  music  ceased,  "  the 
general  sleeps  in  the  next  chamber,  and  is  awake. 
Yes,  indeed,  I  can  easily  understand,  that  for  a  sus- 
ceptible heart  a  male  friend  is  too  rough  and  unfem- 
inine, and  a  female  perhaps  does  not  afford  the  sup- 
port that  the  heart  needs." 

She  answered  as  softly  as  he  desired,  but  at  the 
same  time  grasped  his  hand  with  both  hers,  so  that 
the  napkin  which  she  had  held  with  finger  and  thumb 
fell  from  her  shoulders. 

Walt  felt  the  torments  of  hell !  He  knew  that  the 
moment  the  door  was  opened,  this  whispered  con- 
versation, and  their  close  proximity,  would  draw  upon 
him  the  reputation  of  a  libertine,  a  maiden  wolf- 
hunter,  who  would  not  even  spare  the  innocent, 
among  whom  he  placed  Jacobine,  because  of  her 
soft  blue  eyes. 

"  But  by  heaven,"  he  said,  "  you  venture  too 
much."  "  Hardly,"  she  answered,  "  since  you  ven- 
ture so  little  !  "  Walt  was  reflecting  how,  with  suf- 
ficient tenderness  and  delicacy,  he  could  remind  her 
of  her  own  reputation,  without  drawing  upon  himself 
the  suspicion  of  a  selfish  regard  to  his  own,  when  he 
began  to  suspect  her  attack ;  his  honorable  parents, 
his  unspotted  youth,  the  bridal  crown  of  purity,  worn 
so  long,  all  flitted  through  his  mind.  But  he  would 
give  up  this  for  the  martyr-crown  he  should  wear  in 
its  stead.    He  became  terribly  agitated ;  "  Dearest 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


129 


Jacobine,"  he  said,  with  imploring  voice  —  "  it  is  so 
late  and  still  —  you  divine  —  you  understand  my 
wishes  " 

"  No  !  I  am  no  Eulalia  !  Look  rather  at  the  pure 
chaste  moon,"  she  said,  and  thus  increased  his  error 
and  confusion. 

"  She  moves  in  a  celestial  path,"  he  said,  "  that  no 
earthly  desire  nor  reproach  can  reach.  But  let  me 
at  least  bolt  my  door,  then  we  are  safe." 

"  No,  no,"  she  said  softly,  withdrawing  her  hand, 
that  she  might  replace  the  napkin  upon  her  shoulders. 
Walt  turned  round  to  draw  the  night  bolt,  and  at  the 
same  moment  something  was  hurled  violently  in  at 
the  door  and  fell  upon  the  floor.  It  was  the  mask  of 
a  man.  Jacobine  shrieked  and  fled  from  the  room. 
Walt  took  up  from  the  floor  the  mask  of  the  masked 
gentleman,  whom  he  had  taken  for  his  evil  genius. 

The  moon-beams  so  crossed  and  dazzled  his  fancy, 
that  at  last  it  seemed  as  though  Jacobine  had  herself 
dropped  the  mask  as  a  device  to  injure  his  reputation. 
Walt  suffered  much.  It  did  not  reconcile  him  to 
himself  to  remember  the  assertion  of  his  brother 
Vult,  that  such  spots  upon  the  reputation,  are  like  the 
stains  of  perfumed  waters  upon  handkerchiefs,  that 
would  fade  of  themselves,  if  left  without  the  aid  of 
washes  or  stain-removers.      *        *        *  * 

Then  he  thought  of  the  possibility  of  some  one 
having  seen  the  poor  innocent  girl  at  his  window, 
and  that  he  might  unconsciously  have  tarnished  her 

VOL.  II.  9 


130 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


unprotected  reputation,  which  he  settled  in  his  own 
mind,  must  have  been  inexpressibly  pure  and  firm 
e'er  she  would  have  taken  a  step  so  opposed  to  all 
womanliness  of  character.  At  last  he  remembered 
the  ninth  clause  of  the  will,  which  enjoined  such 
purity  upon  himself,  and  so  severely  punished  seduc- 
tion. He  thought  of  the  general,  with  his  sacred 
collection  of  letters  from  the  ultra  female  Platon-  ' 
ists,  and  Wina,  with  her  eyes  from  the  blue  of  i 
heaven  —  in  short  —  poor  Walt  passed  the  most  mis- 
erable night  that  a  poor  sinner,  who  had  no  eider- 
down beneath  his  back,  could  live  through. 


No.  48.  Asbestos. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


131 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

CONCLUSION  OF  THE  JOURNEY. 

Sacred  morning !  Thy  dews  revive  the  flowers 
and  heal  the  hearts  of  men  !  Thy  star  is  the  pole- 
star  of  our  wandering  tempest-driven  phantasies  ;  and 
its  cool  beams  lead  the  eye  which  has  been  wandering 
after  its  own  sparkles,  to  a  fixed  and  steady  light. 

There  were  yet  many  stars  visible  in  the  morning 
twilight,  when  the  general,  with  a  cheerful  voice, 
summoned  Walt  from  his  bed  to  the  mountain  party, 
and  then  received  him  so  amiably,  that  Walt  smiled 
even  to  the  roots  of  his  hair.  The  general,  he  thought, 
would  have  received  him  differently,  if  he  had  known 
anything  of  the  night.  Wina's  complexion  bloomed 
like  the  roses  that  opened  in  the  sun  of  paradise  upon 
the  morning  of  creation. 

They  proceeded  on  foot  to  the  divided  mountain. 
The  city  reposed  in  deep  silence,  and  only  in  the 
gardens,  upon  its  limits,  rustled  a  faint  sound,  at  inter- 
vals from  the  beds  and  hedges  of  roses  ;  and  columns 
of  the  smoke  of  breakfast  fires  began  to  soar  above 
the  roofs.  Without  the  city,  life  was  awake.  The 
thrush  was  heard  from  the  near  pine-wood,  and  the 
post-horn  from  the  winding  road,  while  from  the 


132 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


mountain  thundered  the  eternal  waterfall.  The  three 
pedestrians  spake  as  people  in  the  early  morning 
always  do,  like  nature  herself,  in  monosyllables. 
They  looked  towards  the  east,  whence  the  rose- 
colored  precursor  of  the  day  began  to  bloom,  and 
deepened,  slowly,  as  the  breath  of  the  morning  fresh- 
ened before  the  rising  sun. 

Wina  leaned  upon  one  arm  of  her  father,  who  car- 
ried in  the  other,  a  so  called,  dark  mirror,  in  order  to 
create,  as  upon  the  walls  of  a  saloon,  or  in  a  hall  of 
sculpture,  the  beauty  of  nature  a  second  time.  The 
early  dawn,  Wina's  morning-dress,  the  dreamy  sen- 
sation that  the  morning-star  awakens,  associated  as  it 
is  with  night,  while  it  rests  upon  the  western  horizon  ; 
Walt's  emotion  of  the  preceding  night,  and  the  con- 
stant fear  of  the  approaching  moment  of  separation, 
all  made  him  speechless ;  gentle,  reflective,  although 
agitated,  and  full  of  love  for  that  virgin  heart  so 
near  him,  and  so  full  of  opening  flowers,  that  he 
rejoiced  on  the  way  before  them,  to  be  able  to 
look  into  the  blissful  cup,  and  observe  the  opening 
blossoms. 

Wina  asked,  in  a  sweet  voice,  his  forgiveness  for 
her  last  evening's  desertion  of  him.  As  he  would 
not  give  back  the  prayer,  he  was  silent.  She  bade 
him  also  to  greet  Raphaela,  and  to  tell  her  that  the 
return  through  Rosenhof  to  Leipsic  had  prevented 
her  from  writing.  The  general,  who  talked  as  openly 
with  his  daughter  in  the  presence  of  Walt  as  though 
he  were  the  deaf  shadow  of  a  man  accompanying 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


133 


them,  reproached  her  for  her  extensive  correspond- 
ence, her  universal  care  for  others,  and  constant 
sacrifice  of  self.  Wina  merely  answered,  in  51 
low  voice,  "  Would  to  God  she  deserved  the  re- 
proach." 

As  they  entered  between  the  mountains,  the  night 
crept  back  into  deeper  dells,  and  under  the  valley 
mist,  while  the  day  stood  with  shining  front  high  in 
the  blue  ether.  Suddenly  the  general  drew  them 
both  between  the  divided  pinnacles  of  some  rocks, 
while  high  above,  upon  one  mountain  horn,  was  re- 
flected the  bright  purple  glow  of  the  morning,  while 
the  other  was  shrouded  in  the  veil  of  night ;  between 
both  shimmered  the  morning  star.  The  youth  and 
the  maiden  cried  out  with  one  voice,  "  Oh  God  ! " 

"  Is  it  not  so "  asked  the  general,  and  looked  at 
the  sky  in  his  darkened  glass,  "  this,  at  least  is  some- 
thing for  my  enthusiast." 

Wina  assented  many  times  with  her  head  and  eye- 
lids, for  she  could  not  turn  away  from  this  starred 
heaven.  Silently  she  pressed  her  praying  lips  upon 
her  father's  hand  to  thank  him  for  this  happiness. 
Then  he  scolded  her  a  little  that  she  was  so  suscep- 
tible, and  took  so  readily  the  impression  of  feelings 
to  which  he  wished  to  lead  her. 

He  conducted  them  both  now  quickly  over  an  arti- 
ficial path  in  front  of  a  wall,  where  the  waterfall, 
like  a  self-murderer,  flung  itself  headlong,  and  then 
like  a  long,  burnished  stream,  spread  itself  over  wide 
lands.    The  stream  fell,  they  could  scarcely  see 


134 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


from  what  height,  far  over  and  deep  beneath  an  old 
ruined  wall.  Zablocki  cried  with  a  loud  voice  to 
ttem,  that  if  they  were  not  afraid  of  a  shower  of 
spray,  they  could  pass  close  to  the  wall  and  through 
a  low  door,  overwoven  with  green  branches,  and 
could  thence  see  something  of  the  landscape  beneath. 
He  went  before,  and  drew  Wina  with  an  extended 
arm  after  him.  As  they  came  through  the  half- 
sunken  door  they  saw  in  the  west  a  plain,  full  of 
cloisters  and  villages,  with  a  dark  stream  winding 
through  its  valley,  and  in  the  east  mountains  piled 
upon  mountains  under  the  high  heavens,  and  crown- 
ed like  Cybele  with  red  glowing  cities  of  ice.  They 
waited  for  the  moment  when  the  sun,  which  already 
tinged  the  snow  of  centuries  with  a  faint  red,  should 
send  its  burning  rays  over,  and  through  the  moun- 
tains. As  yet  the  thunder  of  the  waterfall  was  the 
only  sound.  Gottwalt  looked  from  the  east  up  to- 
wards heaven  as  a  strange  golden  Schimmer  spread 
over  the  dewy  green,  and  saw  above  his  head  the 
waterfall  waving  and  burning  before  the  morning 
sun  like  a  bridge  of  fire,  over  which  the  car  of 
Apollo  rolled,  drawn  by  its  flaming  steeds. 

Walt  threw  himself  upon  his  knees,  and  un- 
covering his  head,  spread  his  hands  towards  hea- 
ven, and  cried  aloud,  "  Oh  !  the  splendor  of  God, 
Wina  ! " 

Then  there  came  a  moment,  neither  knew  how, 
nor  when,  a  moment  when  the  youth  looked  at  Wina, 
and  saw  that  she  looked  at  him,  with  a  new,  a 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


135 


strange,  and  deeply  moved  expression.  Her  eyes 
revealed  to  him  her  whole  open  heart  Wina  trem- 
bled—  he  trembled.  —  She  looked  up  at  the  rain, 
warm  and  rose-colored,  that  seemed  to  sprinkle  the 
tall  pines  with  sparks  of  gold,  and,  as  if  transfigured, 
she  seemed  to  rise  from  earth,  while  the  glowing 
rainbow  rested  beautifully  upon,  and  lighted  her 
whole  form.  She  raised  her  eyes  again  to  Walt's, 
but  withdrew  them  quickly,  as  the  sun  at  the  pole 
glances,  for  a  moment  upon  the  eyes  of  men,  and  is 
gone.  The  thunder  of  the  waterfall,  and  the  rushing 
of  the  stream,  seemed  to  screen  them  with  wings, 
and  separate  them  from  all  the  world.  Walt  spread 
his  arms  no  more  to  Heaven,  but  to  all  that  the  earth 
contained  of  beauty  for  him  !  He  had  nearly  forgot- 
ten the  presence  of  her  father,  and  scarcely  avoided 
seizing  the  hand  of  the  being  who  had  thrown  this 
glance  of  enchantment  over  his  whole  life.  Wina 
pressed  hastily  both  hands  upon  her  eyes  to  shut  out 
the  whole  world.  Her  father  had  been  observing 
the  waterfall  in  the  glass,  and  now  looked  round 
upon  them. 

All  was  ended  !  They  turned  back.  —  The  general 
wished  them  to  praise  more  emphatically  and  more  de- 
cidedly. Neither  Walt  nor  Wina  could  speak.  "Now," 
said  Zablocki,  "  after  such  a  prospect  one  longs  for 
some  real  Turkish  music."  Gottwalt  answered,  "  Yes, 
for  such  parts  of  it  as  are  piano  and  quite  soft,  through 
which  perhaps  the  enchantment  speaks  yet  more 
powerfully,  as  from  the  spiritual  world." 


136  WALT  AND  VULT, 

"  It  will  rain  to-day,"  said  Zablocki,  "  this  morn- 
ing glow  spreads  so  singularly  over  the  whole  hori- 
zon ;  but  the  splendid  morning  was  worth  seeing, 
Wina  ? "  Wina  gave  no  assent.  Silently  they 
reached  Rosenhof.  Zablocki's  carriage,  and  horses, 
and  servants  stood  ready  for  the  journey.  All  sepa- 
rated at  once.  The  lovers  gave  each  other  no  sign 
of  the  former  minute.  The  carriage  rolled  away, 
as  youth  and  holy  hours  depart  from  us. 

Walt  went  back  to  the  Pomegranate,  and  after 
some  moments  spent  in  his  own,  he  went  into  the 
general's  apartment.  Here  he  found  some  me- 
mentos of  Wina  ;  a  torn  note,  that  he  kissed  without 
reading,  and  a  forgotten  perfume-flask.  Preparations 
for  new  guests  drove  him  back  to  his  own  apartment. 
He  secured  the  wonderful  mask.  It  was  now  impos- 
sible for  him  to  remain  there  or  to  travel  any  fur- 
ther. He  must  turn  his  excited  steps  back  towards 
Haslau.  He  longed  to  enter  Vult's  apartment  with 
his  folio  volume  of  adventures  under  his  arm.  He 
had  had  enough  for  his  heart,  and  he  needed  no  Hue 
sky  but  that  of  Wina's  eyes. 

Jacobine  threw  him  from  the  steps,  that  she  came 
up  as  he  went  down,  the  promise  to  play  in  Haslau 
the  next  winter.  The  rose-colored  sky  became 
every  moment  more  gray  and  full  of  rain-clouds. 
Walt  was  obliged  to  wait  long  at  the  ferry — at 
last  it  began  to  rain  in  earnest.  But  when  the 
curtain  before  the  opera  of  love  is  drawn  up,  the 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


137 


eyes  and  ears  are  filled  with  light  and  song,  whe- 
ther it  rains  or  snows  upon  the  roof  of  the  opera- 
house. 

Destiny  seems  willing,  after  a  feast  of  confection- 
ary, to  cut  from  the  shelf  mouldy,  or  worm-eaten 
bread  for  men.  Rosenthal  was  full  of  water.  At 
the  window  of  a  beautiful  summer-house,  the  rain- 
wind  played  discords  and  shrieking  cadences  upon  an 
seolian  harp  :  yet  blessedly  Walt  flew  on  his  way. 
He  had  wings  at  his  head,  his  heart,  his  feet ;  he 
moved,  moreover,  like  a  winged  mercury  upon  the 
winged  Pegasus.  Almost  without  remarking  them, 
he  went  through  the  villages  he  had  passed  the  day 
before.  Like  the  lightning,  his  mind  ran  only  on 
the  gilding  of  the  mansions  of  life.  Wina  alone, 
and  her  eyes,  filled  his  heart.  He  thought  not  of  the 
future,  of  consequences,  of  possibilities.  He  thank- 
ed God  that  there  was  yet  a  present  upon  the  earth. 
Thus  the  rolling  planet  brought  him  without  an  ob- 
stacle again  to  the  sun. 

Towards  evening  he  saw  Haslau  in  prospect,  for 
the  miles  had  again  become  worsts.*  In  Härmles- 
berg he  met  an  old  offender  that  they  were  driving 
with  broomsticks  from  the  township. 

As  he  approached  Haslau  he  encountered  the  re- 
turning fire-engines,  that  had  happily  extinguished  a 


*  He  was  so  happy,  the  long  miles  had  become  short  like 
wersts. 


138 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


fire.  He  stepped  lightly,  and  yet  enchanted,  through 
the  gate  of  Haslau,  although  drippmg  with  the 
shower,  and  laden  with  water  as  m  a  bathing-dress  ; 
and  looking  towards  the  church-tower,  he  remark- 
ed with  joy  that  the  testator  Flitt  yet  lived  ;  sound  as 
a  fish  in  water,  he  peeped  from  his  air-hole. 


No.  49.    JSative  silver  in  the  form  of  leaves. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


139 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

DEVELOPMENTS    OF    THE   JOURNEY  AND  OF  THE 

TRIALS   OF  THE  NOTARY. 

Walt  seemed  to  himself,  as  though  like  one  of 
the  seven  sleepers  awaking,  he  was  going  through 
the  streets  of  a  town  that  had  just  been  emptied  of 
its  inhabitants.  This  aspect  of  things  was  caused 
partly  by  his  absence  of  two  days,  and  partly  by  the 
fire,  which,  although  without  much  injury,  had  taken 
place  in  his  absence.  While  yet  in  the  street  he 
seemed  to  be  moving  on  his  journey.  The  people, 
too,  drawn  by  the  fire  from  their  every-day  regular- 
ity, clustered  here  and  there  in  detached  groups  to 
gaze  about,  and  talk  of  the  danger  they  had  escaped. 
Walt  hastened  to  his  brother,  eager  first  to  excite, 
and  then  to  gratify  his  curiosity.  Vult  received  him 
rather  coolly,  and  said,  he  supposed  he  looked  very 
much  heated,  and  ascribed  his  glowing  face  to  the 
excitement  of  the  fire. 

Walt  began  with  the  most  exciting  parts  of  his 
journey,  saying,  "  Oh  brother,  I  have  things  to  im- 
part—  things  indeed"  — "I  too,"  interrupted  Vult, 
"  have  met  with  some  of  the  wonders  of  the  world, 
which  may  astonish  you.    To  begin  with  the  first. 


I 


140  WALT  AND  VÜLT, 

Flitt  has  recovered.  —  The  town  is  still  wondering 
and  astonished  at  this  unhoped-for  recovery."  "  Yes," 
said  Walt,  "  I  saw  him  as  I  passed  through  the  Lo- 
renzo gate,  standing  at  the  air-hole  of  the  tower,"  but 
Walt  wished  to  hasten  on  to  other  subjects,  and  said, 
"  dearest  brother,  I  would  rather  listen  to  your  re- 
marks than  to  your  narrative,  for  events  are  all  that 
I  have  to  impart.  Your  letter,  with  its  wonderful 
dream,  I  have  received  —  but  what  would  that  be 
in  itself?  It  has  been  fulfilled  from  point  to  point, 
from  comma  to  comma  —  only  listen." 

Walt  now  related  the  mysterious  drama  of  his  his- 
tory, and  then  finding  himself  involved  in  a  confu- 
sion of  incidents,  he  repeated  it  a  second  time. 
No  adventure  is  so  delightful  when  passing,  or  so 
terrible  to  escape  from,  as  it  becomes  afterwards  in 
the  relation.  Alas  !  in  his  impetuosity  he  might  have 
been  betrayed  into  raising  the  sacred  veil  from 
Wina's  loving  glance  beneath  the  water-fall ;  had  he 
not,  during  his  whole  journey,  with  Wina  as  it  were 
on  one  side,  and  Vult  on  the  other,  reflected  and 
pondered  upon  this  bliss  of  his  life  ;  impressing  upon 
himself  the  strongest  reasons  for  referring  to  Wina 
in  the  presence  of  his  brother,  only  in  the  most  cur- 
sory manner,  and  while  relating  facts,  to  suppress  all 
emotion ;  although  he  would  gladly,  in  all  other  cir- 
cumstances, have  poured  into  the  only  heart  open  to 
him,  the  full  stream  of  his  own,  divided  as  it  was 
between  friendship  and  love. 

"  As  far  as  your  adventures  relate  to  my  letter," 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


141 


answered  Vult,  "  I  do  not  think  nauch  of  them  —  I 
will  present  you  presently  a  natural  solution  of  them. ; 
but  of  Jacobine  —  restrain  thyself  —  of  her  I  would 
gladly  hear  more."  Walt,  although  reluctantly,  im- 
parted to  his  brother  an  exact  history  of  the  noctur- 
nal visit,  telling  him  of  all  the  circumstances  of  that 
strange  scene,  and  not  omitting  to  describe  his  own 
harrowing  emotions. 

"  Nothing  can  be  more  easily  explained,"  said 
Vult  at  length.  "  Could  not  then,  a  fellow,  who  knew 
all  the  circumstances,  have  glided  on  through  field  and 
forest  a  few  steps  behind  or  before  thee  ;  announced 
thy  coming  at  the  ale-houses  and  hotels  ;  ordered 
and  arranged  the  most  minute  circumstances,  such 
as  that  with  the  picture-dealer,  and  his  Quodlibet^  and 
his  Quod  deus  Vult  est  bene  f actus,  statt  factum  — 
and  so  on  ?  As  to  the  letter,  it  was  easy  enough  to 
write  in  my  name  and  style,  and  to  prophesy  therein 
every  thing  which  could  not  fail  of  being  accom- 
plished ;  and  to  bury  the  money,  only  a  moment  be- 
fore it  was  disinterred." 

"  Impossible !  "  said  Walt,  "  and  then  the  owner 
of  the  mask  ?  "  "  Have  you  still  the  mask  in  your 
pocket  ?  "  asked  Vult.  Walt  drew  it  out.  —  Vult 
placed  it  before  his  face,  his  eyes  flashing  angrily 
through,  while  he  cried  out  in  the  well-known  voice 
of  the  mask,  "  Ah,  is  it  I  >  Who  are  you  >  "  "  Hea- 
vens !  what  is  that  ?  "  exclaimed  the  terrified  Walt. 
Vult  gently  raised  the  mask  again,  saying  —  "  I  do 
not   know  what  you  think  of  the  matter,  I  am 


142 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


convinced  that  the  mask-wearer,  the  flute-player,  the 
letter-writer,  and  myself  are  one  and  the  same  per- 
son.   In  short,  it  was  I,"  concluded  Vult. 

But  Walt  could  not  easily  believe  in  his  own 
astonishment.  Something  wonderful,"  he  said  "is 
yet  concealed  behind  all  this  jugglery  ;  and  then,  why 
should  you  have  taken  so  much  pains  to  deceive  me 
so  strangely  ?  " 

But  Vult  explained  to  him  that  the  object  was  in 
part  to  afford  him  some  amusement,  in  part  to 
save  him  from  something  unpleasant.  He  asked, 
with  rather  a  sarcastic  expression  of  countenance, 
whether  he  did  not  throw  his  mask  into  the  room  at 
the  right  moment,  just  before  Jacobine  would  have 
let  her's  fall  ?  Finally,  he  declared  plainly,  that  the 
clause  in  the  will  that  punished  sins  of  this  nature, 
by  cutting  off  half  the  inheritance,  was  well  known, 
and  Walt's  innocence,  alas,  was  as  well  known  ; 
adding  that  nothing  was  more  frequently  a  mark  to 
be  shot  at  in  a  contest,  than  a  white  horse,  on  ac- 
count of  his  color  of  innocence ;  the  seven  heirs, 
like  skilful  generals,  cover  their  encampment  with  a 
morass ;  in  short,  dove-merchants  often  deceive  ef- 
fectually, by  giving  out  two  female  doves  as  a  pair 
of  mates  —  might  it  not  have  been  so  with  you  and 
the  actress,  had  I  not  followed  you  closely  ?  "  Walt 
blushed  deeply  with  shame  and  anger,  and  said, 
looking  round  for  his  hat :  "  Oh  harsh,  beyond  exam- 
ple !  Is  it  thus  you  think  of  a  poor  innocent  girl, 
and  of  your  own  brother  ?  "    He  rushed  out,  saying 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


143 


with  bitter  tears,  "  good  night  ;  for  I  have  not  a 
word  more  to  say."  —  He  left  no  time  for  answer, 
and  Vult  was  almost  angry  at  this  unexpected  re- 
pulse. 

"/ — I!"  —  he  repeated  in  the  street,  feeling 
himself  deeply  wounded,  "  /  could  allow  myself  to 
sin  at  a  time  when  God  had  granted  me  the  most 
delightful  evening  of  my  whole  journey,  and  when 
the  lovely  Wina  was  so  near  me  ?  God  would  not 
permit  that ! " 

But  when  at  last  he  entered  his  little  chamber,  a 
new  and  peculiar  blessedness  was  infused  into  his 
existence,  before  which  all  sorrow  seemed  to  vanish 
away.  A  new  emotion  is  more  deeply  felt  in  a  fa- 
miliar place.  Wina's  glance  beneath  the  waterfall 
illumined  his  whole  existence  with  the  golden  beam 
of  morning,  and  made  all  the  dewy  blossoms  of  life 
glisten  beneath  its  light.  Many  things  about  him 
had  now  become,  in  a  wholly  new  sense,  his  own. 
The  park  below,  in  whose  alleys  he  had  once  seen 
her  walking  —  Raphaela  in  the  same  house,  who 
was  her  friend  —  these  now,  with  the  avarice  of  a 
miser,  had  become  the  inmates  of  his  own  breast. 
Even  the  romance  he  was  writing,  appeared  to  him 
altogether  new.  He  could  scarcely  recognize  again 
his  pictures  of  a  loving  heart ;  for  this  evening  he 
first  understood  what  he  could  lately  have  wished  to 
express.  Never  could  a  passionate  author  have 
found  a  more  intelligent  reader  than  himself  to-day. 

He  immediately  began  to  construct  for  himself  a 


144 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


cabinet  of  favorite  pictures,  for  the  representation  of 
the  scenes  in  which  Wina  might  be  engaged  this  very 
evening.  —  Perhaps  at  the  theatre,  or  in  the  Leipsic 
gardens,  or  in  a  select  musical  party.  Then  he 
painted  the  scenes  in  glowing  colors,  merely  for  his 
own  delight,  —  that  to-day  she  might  be  at  Gluck's 
Iphigcnia  in  Tauris.  Afterwards  he  made  blissful 
poems  about  her,  and  then  held  these  papers,  full  of 
the  thoughts  of  Paradise,  in  the  flame  of  the  tallow 
candle,  and  consumed  them  wholly ;  for  he  thought, 
"  I  cannot  understand  by  what  right  I  may,  without 
her  permission,  reveal  so  much  respecting  her  to 
paper,  or  even  to  myself." 

As  he  went  to  bed  he  determined  to  have  the 
same  dream  as  Wina.  "  Who  can  forbid  me,"  he 
said,  "  to  visit  her  dreams,  or  even  sometimes  to 
lend  or  inspire  them  ?  Is  sleep  then  more  reasonable 
than  waking  hours  Ah  !  might  she  only  in  its 
wild  illusions,  imagine  that  we  were  standing  to- 
gether beneath  the  waterfall ;  that  united  in  gentle 
bonds,  we  were  floating  away,  swimming,  folded  in 
each  others  arms,  upon  its  flowing  waves  of  burnished 
gold ;  that  we  were  rushing  with  the  waves  to  our 
death  in  this  world,  and  then,  transformed  into  divine 
beings,  we  could  continue  to  float  on  in  ihe  midst  of 
flowers  and  sunbeams,  her  wave  blending  into  mine, 
and  thus  glide  on  forever  !  Ah,  could  you  but  thus 
dream,  dear  Wina  !  " 

Then  he  saw,  quite  clearly  and  distinctly  traced 
upon  his  pillow,  for  in  that  uncertain  period  which 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


145 


precedes  dreaming,  the  real  fades  away,  and  all  the 
images  of  the  soul  become  more  intensely  colored, 
and  pictured  forms  open  their  dim  eyes  ;  then  he 
saw  before  him,  Wina,  with  that  glance  beneath  the 
waterfall,  beaming  out  gloriously  in  the  dark  blue  of 
night,  like  the  moon,  which  the  garish  day  had  reduc- 
ed to  a  little  cloud  ;  and  he  sank  into  that  clear  eye, 
as  a  saint  sinks  into  the  eye  by  which  God  is  some- 
times represented.  How  light  and  evanescent  is  a 
glance,  especially  one  that  is  only  remembered  ! 
Scarcely  is  it  the  Alpine  rose  that  man  brings  down 
and  cherishes,  as  from  the  utmost  elevation  of  his 
life!  And  yet  the  soul  —  the  soul,  clings  in  the 
midst  of  the  infinity  of  worlds  and  planets,  to 
the  little  space  that  an  eyelid  covers  ;  to  a  vanishing, 
a  scarcely  discerned  glance,  and  upon  this  celestial 
nothing  rests  its  earthly  paradise,  with  all  its  perfum- 
ed flowers,  with  all  its  waving  trees  !  Thus  are 
spirits  ;  the  invisible  is  their  world,  and  imagination  is 
their  reality ! 

In  the  morning,  sunshine  and  bliss  lay  all  around 
him.  All  the  blossoms  of  the  apples  of  strife  had 
fallen  to  the  ground.  The  first  hour  of  morning  is 
of  gold,  the  purest  in  the  world.  The  rising  sun 
takes  away  the  dross,  and  leaves  the  virgin  ore  in  our 
hearts.  The  dark  residuum,  especially  that  of  hatred, 
is  removed.  He  who  loves,  forgives,  at  least,  when 
he  rises  in  the  morning.  Walt  asked  himself  how 
he  could  have  been  so  angry  with  his  brother  the 

VOL.  II.  10 


146 


WALT  AND  VüLT, 


day  before,  at  the  very  time  of  their  meetin*  again 
after  their  separation  ?  "  Ah,  my  poor  brother,"  he 
continued,  "  for  he  has  no  beloved  one,  whose  glance 
rests  in  his  heart  like  its  central  fire."  And  he  went 
on  to  place  himself,  according  to  his  instincts,  which 
always  forced  him  into  the  soul  of  another,  from 
thence  to  take  his  survey  —  he  placed  himself  there- 
fore in  his  brother's  place ;  considering  that  he  knew 
nothing,  (namely,  of  the  waterfall,)  that  he  meant  it 
all  in  kindness,  at  least  towards  himself,  and  had 
only  acted  with  a  little  imperious  harshness. 

In  this  temper  of  mind,  he  resolved  to  go  to  his 
brother,  not  to  say  a  word  about  the  subject  of  dis- 
cord, but  to  take  again  that  hand  which  had  so  long 
been  united  with  his  own,  and  talk  calmly  of  other 
things,  especially  of  what  he  should  do  next,  in  order 
to  secure  the  inheritance.  Vult  had  left  town.  A 
note  for  Walt  was  fastened  to  the  door. 

"  Dearest,  I  departed  early  this  morning,  in  order 
to  blow  the  flute  at  my  promised  concert  in  Rosen- 
hof.  In  future  I  shall  work  much  more  diligently. 
At  present  I  do  too  little  for  our  double  romance ; 
especially  as  I  really  do  nothing  at  all.  It  does  not 
help  us  that  I  love  better  to  talk,  swimming  along  in  a 
swiftly  running  stream,  than  to  write.  But  this  is 
not  well,  either  for  literature  or  for  profit.  In  schools, 
the  same  master  answers  for  writing  and  arithmetic ; 
on  the  other  hand,  an  excellent  writer  of  books  is  sel- 
dom a  good  accountant.  Unfortunately,  I  am  neither 
the  one  nor  the  other,  and  yet  I  am  in  want  of  money. 

Adieu,  V.  H." 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


147 


"  My  poor,  persecuted  brother,"  said  Walt.  "  Now 
he  must  go  and  play  on  the  flute  for  the  money  that 
he  so  thoughtlessly  sported  away  into  my  hands. 
Why  should  I  always  fall  so  heavily  upon  his  good 
heart  ?  "  And  Walt  made  the  serious  resolution, 
never  again,  as  had  sometimes  happened,  to  give  way 
to  his  stormy  and  impetuous  temper. 

But  Rosenhof  (the  residence  of  Wina)  diffused  a 
serene  light  upon  every  thing,  and,  as  it  were,  con- 
secrated the  flute-^player ;  whom  he  saw  in  imagina- 
tion, walking  through  its  dewy  meadows,  in  the  re- 
flected splendor  of  the  brilliant  morning  sunshine. 

Walt  recommenced  his  business  as  a  notary  with 
more  courage  than  before,  as  his  employment  steadily 
increased,  while  he  drew  near  the  end  of  the  labors 
which  he  hoped  would  secure  to  him  the  inheritance. 
It  was  to  him  perfectly  indifferent,  so  joyfully  did  his 
heart  rest  in  his  bosom,  for  what  he  drew  an  instru- 
ment, whether  for  the  succession  of  a  court  preacher, 
or  the  ownership  of  an  old  oil-cask,  or  even  to  deter- 
mine the  result  of  a  wager.  His  thoughts  were  al- 
ways at  the  house  of  the  general,  or  at  the  waterfall, 
or  at  Leipsic,  and  it  was  quite  indifferent  to  him,  for 
indeed  he  did  not  give  his  thoughts  to  what  he  trans- 
cribed as  a  public  Imperial  notary. 

Thus  brilliantly  illumined  by  the  after-summer 
of  the  heart,  he  passed  from  September  to  October, 
in  which  month  he  was  to  lay  before  the  executors 
of  Kable's  will,  the  account  of  his  notary  business, 
and  all  that  he  had  done  to  entitle  him  to  the  inherit- 


148 


WALT  AIVD  VULT, 


ance.  Upon  this  subject  he  felt  no  anxiety,  for 
Wina's  eye  had  kindled  so  fervid  a  glow  about  his 
heart,  that  the  fountain  of  life,  thus  kept  warm,  de- 
fied all  the  outward  coldness  of  destiny. 

Lucas,  his  father,  had  sent  him  many  copies  of  his 
own  original  letters,  that  the  Schulze  had  indeed  in  his 
possession,  because  in  manuscript  letters,  the  copy  is 
far  more  legible  than  the  original,  and  together  with 
these,  his  anxiety  about  the  backwardness  of  the  no- 
tary, and  his  indifference  regarding  the  conditions  of 
the  inheritance.  The  repetition  of  the  same  ideas, 
dried  up  and  withered  as  they  were,  that  choked 
the  expansion  of  any  new  and  fresh  ones,  was  a 
severe  trial  to  Walt,  and  he  wished  for  nothing  so 
much  as  the  old  freedom,  the  power  of  thinking  of  a 
hundred  things  at  any  time.  "  Why  then  is  the  mis- 
taken path  of  life  so  vexatious  ?  "  "  Because  it 
stretches  forever  before  us,"  he  answered,  "  with 
the  wearying  and  worn-out  ideas  of  the  withered 
path  itself,  till  we  again  catch  and  enter  the  right 
one.  The  common  miseries  of  life  give  us  less  pain 
at  their  birth,  than  during  their  formation,  and  the 
real  day  of  sorrow  is  ever  twenty-four  hours  sooner 
than  others." 

The  first  step  that  Walt  took  upon  the  appointed 
morning,  the  step  that  led  him  to  the  council-cham- 
ber, made  him  a  different  man  ;  the  event  was  al- 
ready passed,  for  him,  when  it  was  decided  upon. 
He  came  too  early,  but  waited  very  cheerfully  in  the 
ante-room,  composing  a  Streckvers^  with  all  the 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


149 


warmth  that  the  season  admitted,  upon  some  well- 
designed  groups  in  bas-relief  upon  the  cold  stove  in  the 
council-chamber.  As  the  privy  council  were  still  in 
session,  Walt  had  time  for  some  associated  ideas ; 
whether,  for  instance,  a  whole  romance,  especially  a 
comic  one,  might  not  be  conceived  and  arranged  out 
of  the  stucco-work  of  a  stove.  Thus  a  man,  before 
an  important  crisis  in  his  life  ;  (but  not  a  woman  be- 
fore a  ball,)  before  a  battle,  a  coronation,  a  duel,  or 
a  suicide,  can  poetize,  jest,  or  sleep. 

At  length  the  Pfalzgraf  Knoll,  as  advocate  of  the 
disinherited  heirs  of  the  Kable  estate,  came  in,  and 
all  went  on  before  the  Mayor  Kuhnold. 

Never  could  Walt  have  believed  that  he  could 
feel  so  light-hearted  in  a  council-chamber.  He 
could  have '  balanced  himself  upon  the  stamen  of  a 
lily  ;  but  he  soon  fell  from  his  lily  to  the  earth,  when 
the  advocate  brought  forth,  and  supported,  the  pro- 
position, "  that  this  publicly  sworn  notary  had  hither- 
to managed  his  business  most  absurdly."  That  he 
had  firstly,  and  scondly,  made  two  abbreviations  in 
one  instrument.  Thirdly^  that  he  had  not  only  ex- 
ecuted an  instrument  m  the  night,  but  also  with  two 
kinds  of  ink,  (Flitt's  will  upon  the  tower,)  but,  fourth- 
ly, with  one  candle  instead  of  three  ;  fifthly,  he  had 
made  one  erasure  ;  sixthly,  he  had  not  recorded  that 
he  was  expressly  desired  to  prepare  the  will ;  also,  in 
the  seventh  place,  he  had  omitted  to  mention  the 
hour ;  eighthly,  the  petition  of  N.  N.  against  N.  N. 
was  tied  with  a  dark  brown  instead  of  a  yellow  rib- 


150 


WALT   AND  VULT, 


bon,  such  as  the  protocol  required.  Ninthly,  he  had 
neglected  to  cause  the  house  servants  to  acknowledge 
the  duty  they  had  formerly  sworn  to  their  master,  by 
the  giving  of  hands,  at  the  same  time  that  he  showed 
them  the  act  of  dismission  ;  in  the  tenth  place,  he 
had  mistaken  the  day  of  the  month  in  a  bill  of  ex- 
change ;  and  eleventhly,  and  lastly,  he  had  not  scru- 
pled to  draw  up  an  instrument  on  the  31st  of 
September,  a  day  that  had  no  existence.  After  this, 
he  was  asked  point  blank,  what  he  had  to  say  in 
reply.  "  I  know  nothing  myself  about  it,"  Walt 
answered,  "  I  rely  therefore  much  more  upon  the 
memory  of  the  opposite  party  than  on  my  own.  But 
as  to  the  affair  of  the  family  witnesses,  I  hold  it  as 
arbitrary,  and  even  impossible,  to  take  away  or  give 
them  back  their  duties,  by  a  mere  word  from  my 
mouth." 

To  this  Mr.  Kuhnold  replied,  "  that  his  reason  was 
rather  a  noble,  than  a  legal  one,"  and  referred  it  to 
Mr.  Fiscal  Knoll.  "  Nothing  could  be  more  absurd," 
was  his  answer,  and  he  threw  out  ten  or  twenty  un- 
meaning, empty  words,  in  order  to  hasten  what  was 
already  understood  would  take  place  at  this  time, 
the  opening  of  the  secret  articles,  by  the  principal 
executor  of  the  will. 

Before  Kuhnold  did  this,  he  declared  to  the  Pfalz- 
graf, that  lawyers  did  not  universally  require  three 
candles  for  drawing  up  contracts  in  the  evening, 
and  desired,  as  Knoll  insisted  upon  his  own  position, 
merely  the  promtuarum  juris  of  Hemmel  or  IMuller 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


151 


as  the  nearest  proof,  to  be  taken  from  the  shelf. 
The  library  of  the  council-chamber  did  not  go  be- 
yond the  4th  volume,  and  was  destitute,  as  most  public 
libraries  are,  of  a  catalogue.  Knoll  adhered  to  what 
he  had  asserted  ;  Kuhnold,  on  his  part,  did  not  give 
up,  but  proceeded  to  read  the  tariff  of  penalties  — 
namely,  that  for  every  legal  error  in  his  office  of 
notary,  the.  young  Harnish  should  forfeit  to  each  of 
the  seven  heirs  a  fir-tree  in  the  Kable  woods.  As 
he  had  fallen  into  ten  sins,  without  the  disputed 
question  of  the  candles,  these  ten,  multiplied  by  the 
seven  torments,  demanded  at  one  blow  the  sacrifice 
of  seventy  trees  ;  so  that  the  light  the  little  forest 
would  gain  thereby,  fell  darkly  upon  Walt. 

"  Ah  !  "  said  Walt,  throwing  out  both  his  arms, 
"  what  is  to  be  done  ?  "  He  knew  well  how  to  con- 
sole himself  for  all  the  accidents  of  life  ;  like  the 
boot-maker,  who  brings  to  his  customer  a  pair  of 
new  boots,  if  they  are  too  small,  he  says  they  will 
soon  stretch  ;  if  they  are  too  large,  the  dampness 
will  soon  draw  them  in  —  thus  thought  Walt.  — 
"  TAis,"  he  said,  "  enlightens  me  —  now  I  can  make 
out  all  my  notary  instruments  without  the  fretting 
embarrassment  of  these  secret  mysterious  articles." 
But  the  Fiscal  Knoll  soon  turned  the  poetical  and 
divine  nectar  of  his  heart  into  a  vapid  and  heavy 
vinegar,  by  insisting,  without  being  in  the  least  de- 
gree turned  from  his  point  by  the  acquisition  of  his 
fire-wood,  upon  his  protestations  in  regard  to  the 
three  candles.    The  presence^  even,  of  a  person  who 


152 


WALT  AND  VüLT, 


has  a  fixed  dislike  to  one,  oppresses  and  constrains  a 
loving  spirit,  like  the  heavy  atmosphere  of  a  thunder- 
storm, whose  real  shock  disturbs  us  less  than  its  ap- 
proach. Mortified,  even  by  Kuhnold's  gentle  reproof, 
which  spoke  of  such  venial,  almost  unavoidable  er- 
rors, as  if  they  were  unpardonable,  he  went  home, 
where  he  already  anticipated  Vult's  jests  and  his 
father's  reproaches. 

The  first  thing  he  did  in  the  house  was  to  spring 
out  of  it.  The  beautiful,  tranquil  heights  of  the 
October  nature  invited  him  to  escape  from  his  father, 
and  his  severe  judgment  ;  for  he  was  quite  sure  the 
justice  would  pick  up  every  fragment  of  the  broken 
jar  of  fortune,  to  throw  upon  his  devoted  and  unlucky 
head. 

While  standing  upon  a  little  peaceful  height  op- 
posite the  Kable  forest,  and  employed  in  changing, 
by  a  poetical  imagination,  the  salutary  miserere  of 
fate  into  a  musical  one,  he  plainly  saw,  that  already 
several  of  the  heirs,  with  experienced  wood-cutters, 
were  already  surveying  the  bequeathed  forest,  in  order 
to  select  and  agree  upon  which  trees  each  should 
have,  for  his  share  of  the  legacy.  Finally,  Flitt  can- 
tered into  the  wood,  at  the  head  of  a  wood-cutting 
gang,  with  axes,  saws,  and  measuring-rods  in  their 
hands.  "  It  is  right,  after  all,"  thought  Walt,  "  that 
I  should  in  some  way,  however  feebly,  express  my 
gratitude  to  the  kind-hearted  Flitt,  for  his  selection 
of  me  as  his  heir,  were  it  even  by  my  mistakes. 
May  he  have  much  pleasure,  without  any  malice,  by 
his  acquisition  of  fire-wood." 


OR  THE  TWINS, 


153 


Walt's  satisfaction  at  the  loss  of  his  trees  was 
somewhat  embittered,  when  he  saw  the  old  magis- 
trate, Lucas,  striding  out  of  town  towards  the  wood, 
and  bearing  the  crown  and  sceptre  of  martyrdom. 
Lucas,  when  he  entered  the  forest,  ran  hither  and 
thither,  asked  questions  about  the  trees  that  were 
marked  to  be  felled,  objected  to  every  one,  without 
any  right  to  do  so,  and  flew,  like  an  itinerant  forest- 
tribunal,  to  each  bush,  to  every  saw  and  axe,  while 
the  desert  of  his  face  became  every  moment,  upon 
the  arrival  of  every  succeeding  heir,  drier  than  the 
Arabian  desert.  Then  he  looked  up  despairingly,  at 
every  noble  tree  that  came  under  the  axe,  and  could 
accomplish  nothing,  but  the  assertion  of  his  right  to 
direct  the  way  in  which  the  tree  should  fall,  so  as 
not  to  injure  the  underwood. 

Walt  looked  on  piteously.  Easily  as  he  had  hith- 
erto changed  the  dark  colors  of  fate  into  imaginary 
picture  colors,  still  he  could  not,  because  the  pres- 
ence of  his  father  disturbed  him,  transform  this  wood- 
cutting into  anything  poetical.  He  waited  till  his 
father  had  gone  ;  then  he  could  not  even  turn  his 
eyes  towards  the  most  beautiful  sunset,  that  glowed 
in  the  west,  but  was  lost  in  the  consideration  of  which 
of  the  required  duties,  that  would  be  most  agreeable 
to  his  father,  he  should  now  enter  upon,  in  order  to 
secure  the  inheritance.  He  missed  the  flute-player, 
who  might  have  helped  him  to  a  decision.  At  length 
he  chose  that,  which  could  be  accomplished  in  the 
shortest  time,  namely,  the  seven  days  sojourn  with 
one  of  the  heirs. 


154 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


This  condition  is  mentioned  in  clause  6th  of  the 
Testament,  where  it  is  required,  that  the  heir,  acord- 
ing  to  the  requisitions  of  the  will,  must  live  with  one 
of  the  gentlemen  who  are  associated  in  the  will,  and 
fulfil  for  the  time  being,  (unless  inconsistent  with 
hoDor,)  all  the  wishes  of  his  patron. 

So  simple  a  task,  and  for  so  short  a  time,  Walt 
fondly  hoped  to  accomplish  with  some  cleverness, 
and  even  with  dexterity,  so  that  his  brother,  when  he 
returned,  should  not  be  able  to  detect  either  great 
faults,  or  small  errors. 

After  the  choice  of  the  dutij^  he  must  decide  to 
which  of  the  heirs  he  should  first  propose  his  ser- 
vices. From  a  sense  of  gratitude,  he  selected  for  his 
first  weekly  residence  Mr.  Newpeter,  under  whose 
roof  he  had  dwelt  since  he  came  to  the  city.  "  He 
requires  from  me,"  he  said,  "  some  favor  and  grati- 
tude." 


No.  50.    A  worn-out  justice-role. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


155 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

GENTEEL  LIFE. 

In  the  morning  Walt  had  prepared  the  most  elo- 
quent address,  with  which  he  was  to  present  himself 
before  Newpeter.  The  latter  received  him  in  his 
office,  where  he  was  sitting  before  a  lighted  candle, 
with  his  seal  at  his  lips,  wetting  it  before  he  sealed 
his  dispatches,  and  at  the  same  time  saying,  "  it  was 
post-day.'''' 

Walt,  who  had  really  come  to  take  leave  of  him, 
pronounced  behind  his  back  a  speech  of  much  tender- 
ness and  gratitude  ;  when  Newpeter,  having  finished 
his  letters,  and  snuffed  out  his  candle,  turned  round 
with  the  question,  "  What  do  you  want  ?  "  Alas, 
the  whole  discourse  had  vanished  from  the  notary's 
mind. 

No  one  can  repeat  the  same  speech  twice  over. 
In  his  haste,  he  could  only  give  out  a  faint  pencil- 
sketch  of  what  he  had  said  before.  The  court-agent 
however,  merely  requested  him  not  to  disturb  people 
with  such  absurdities. 

Walt  had  supported  all  the  errors  of  his  office  as  a 
notary,  far  better  than  he  could  this  blow,  of  having 
the  door  of  the  person  in  whose  house  he  had  lived, 


156 


•WALT  AND  VTJLT, 


thus  thrust  against  him.  To  confer  honor  upon  any- 
one, by  offering  his  services  for  a  week,  never  oc- 
curred to  him  ;  but  if  there  were  any  good,  but  poor 
devil  among  the  heirs,  whom  he  could  accommodate 
by  sharing  with  him,  rather  the  bread  of  repentance 
than  that  of  heaven,  he  would  go  to  him.  The  said 
poor  devil  had  long  been  present  to  his  mind,  — 
namely,  Flitt  from  Alsatia.  Walt  resolved  to  go  to 
the  Nicholas  tower  ;  but  he  offered  with  much  diffi- 
dence the  proposal  of  his  first  week  of  service  and 
trial. 

The  Alsatian  embraced  him  most  joyfully,  and 
declared,  that  as  he  was  wholly  restored,  and  no 
longer  required  fresh  air,  he  would  leave  the  tower 
that  very  day.  "  I  will  hire,"  he  said,  "  for  our  use, 
a  couple  of  beautifully-furnished  rooms,  in  the  Caf- 
fatier  Fraisse.  Ah  !  there  we  will  live  comme  il 
fauty    Walt  was  but  too  happy. 

In  less  than  half  an  hour,  Flitt  had  packed  every- 
thing in  and  out,  and  adorned  the  passages  of  the 
lodgings  that  he  left,  as  well  as  those  he  entered, 
with  his  goods  and  chattels,  like  a  spider  spinning 
his  threads,  which  consisted  of  locks  of  hair  taken 
for  remembrance,  and  billet-doux,  from  one  door  to 
the  other.  He  ventured  now  to  descend  from  the 
tower  that  had  been  his  Bastile,  or  the  frontier  castle 
of  his  creditors,  down  to  an  unfortified  coffee-house ; 
partly,  because  he  had  inherited  his  own  testament, — 
namely,  the  credit  of  it,  —  and  partly  from  the  share 
which  Walt's  errors,  when  he  made  his  own  will,  had 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


157 


given  him,  viz.  the  ten  fir  trees  in  the  Van  der  Kable 
forest.  It  has  already  been  mentioned  with  what  a 
retinue  he  went  through  that  wood,  sown  ^^  ith  the 
stony  harvest  of  faults,  to  crack  and  pick  out  the 
kernels  for  himself. 

Walt  departed  upon  this  most  beautiful  morning  in 
autumn,  half  sadly,  from  his  hermitage.  It  seemed 
to  him  that  his  room,  without  himself,  would  be  weari- 
some and  empty,  especially  his  chair  ;  but  when  he 
entered  his  new  lodgings  in  the  Caffatier  Fraisse, 
and  his  eyes  fell  upon  the  splendid  furniture,  the 
long  mirrors  in  which  the  guests  were  reflected  at 
full  length,  the  glass  drops,  hanging  like  diamonds 
from  the  girandoles,  he  was  astonished  and  terrified. 
Flitt  smiled.  Walt  wished  to  be  an  economist,  — 
especially  where  others  were  concerned,  —  and  that 
the  Alsatian  had  hired  such  a  palace,  confounded  and 
displeased  him.  He  feared  the  expense  was  incurred 
on  his  account,  not  knowing  that  Flitt  belonged  to 
those  spendthrifts  who,  like  the  German  emperor, 
swear  to  leave  nothing  for  posterity  ;  neither  kingdom 
nor  estate,  and,  like  the  Athenian  servants  of  their 
country,  bequeath  to  it  only  their  fame,  and  their 
debts. 

Walt  drew  out,  without  hestitation,  from  the  old 
purse  of  Kable  the  gold  pieces  appropriated  to  the 
payment  of  this  week  of  service,  and  placed  them 
upon  the  table  with  these  words,  "  I  wish  they  were 
more,  but  this  is  the  appropriation  of  my  benefac- 
tor."   Few  men  have  been  more  roughly  put  to  the 


158 


WALT   AND  VULT, 


question  than  was  Walt,  when  Fhtt  upon  this  asked 
him,  "  was  he  not,  then,  in  the  devil's  name,  his  own 
guest." 

There  was  now  a  still  more  dilficult  point  to  settle ; 
namely,  the  object  of  the  testator  in  appointing  this 
week's  residence  in  the  house  of  one  of  the  heirs. 
"  It  is  naturally  difficult,"  Walt  said,  "  in  these 
costly  and  cheerful  rooms,  and  in  your  society,  to 
think  of  anything  so  juristical  as  the  clauses  of  the 
testament ;  I  could  sacrifice  my  own  interest,  but 
not  my  obligation  to  my  parents,  and  I  must  pray 
you,  although  with  reluctance,  to  tell  me  the  design 
of  this  expense,  that  I  may  commit  no  error  — 
indeed,  it  is  more  difficult  for  me  to  ask,  than  it  will 
be  to  act." 

The  xVlsatian  could  not  immediately  enter  into  his 
delicate  scruples.  "  Bah  !  "  he  said,  "  what  is  there 
then  to  be  sacrificed  ?  We  will  talk  and  dance  to- 
gether.   Old  Kable  has  nothing  to  do  with  that." 

*•  Speak  and  dance,"  said  the  baffled  Walt,  "  and 
together  ?  I  can  only  say,  Herr  Flitt,  that  it  opens 
an  unlimited  prospect  of  errors,  for  one  or  both  of 
us.  But—" 

"  Sacre  !  Why,  then,  are  we  so  precise  ?  Will 
any  man  upon  this  earth  pretend  that  he  is  going  to 
run  to  the  long-nosed  burgomaster,  and  tell  him 
how  we  have  enjoyed  ourselves  ?  " 

They  breakfasted  together,  talking  gaily  over  their 
affairs.  The  long  windows  and  glasses  filled  the 
room  with  a  splendid  light,  while  the  cool  blue  sky 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


159 


smiled  upon  them.  Walt  became  aware  that,  for 
the  first  time  in  his  life,  he  was  living  in  aristocratic 
luxury.  Flitt  read  aloud  two  insertions  that  he  had 
prepared  for  the  Imperial  Advertiser.  In  the  first, 
he  demanded  of  the  general  paymaster  of  the  army, 
nine  hundred  and  sixty  thalers,  for  wine,  to  be  paid 
within  six  months,  if  he  did  not  wish  to  be  posted  in 
the  Royal  Advertiser.  The  other  contained  a  little 
more  uncolored  truth,  viz.,  that  he  desired  a  partner 
with  twenty  thousand  thalers,  to  join  him  in  the  wine 
trade.  Walt  was  delighted  that  the  good-humored 
rogue  could  command  so  much  coin,  and  raise  this 
gilded  lightning-rod  of  life  so  high  in  the  air. 

Flitt  asked,  "  Tell  me  truly,  if  you  see  no  faults  of 
style  in  these  little  things.  I  wrote  them  in  a  mo- 
ment." 

Walt  answered,  that  the  smaller  an  insertion  was, 
so  much  greater  was  the  difficulty  ;  that  he  could 
much  easier  himself,  work  out  a  whole  sheet  for  the 
press,  than  such  a  twenty-fourth  part  of  one. 

He  now  untied  before  Walt,  whose  honest  applause 
and  simple  confidence  had  penetrated  his  heart  with 
an  agreeable  warmth,  a  bundle  of  love-letters  to 
himself,  in  which  his  heart  and  his  style  were  very 
much  commended.  Flitt  had  received  the  packet 
for  safe  keeping  from  a  young  Parisian.  Walt  could 
scarcely  cease  expressing  his  admiration  at  the  elo- 
quence of  the  fair  writer,  so  that  at  last  the  Alsatian 
nearly  believed  the  letters  luere  written  to  himself. 
Walt  did  this  pardy  to  avoid  speaking  of  love  ;  for 


160 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


like  an  inexperienced  youth  he  thought  love  should 
dwell  beliind  the  cloister-grate  of  the  heart,  or,  at 
least,  in  the  cloister  garden.  He  said  only,  generally, 
"  love,  like  incense,  both  are  so  pure,  will  penetrate 
the  heaviest  air,  and  the  densest  cloud. 

Flitt  went  still  further,  and  showed  his  guest  the 
most  delicate  love  madrigals  that  he  had  had  printed 
in  centissimo.  They  were  little  leaves  of  verses 
taken  from  French  confectionary^  whose  plagarism 
he  betrayed,  by  saying,  he  had  eaten  the  binding. 

Why  do  the  Germans  leave  to  the  French  the  ad- 
vantage of  a  sweet  and  spicy  envelope  for  their 
poetry^  while,  on  the  contrary,  our  sugar  and  drugs 
are  packed  and  concealed  within^  is  a  question  one 
might  ask,  if  this  was  a  place  for  an  answer. 

Over  every  enjoyment,  either  of  taste  or  appetite, 
that  man  benevolently  prepares  for  another,  hangs 
the  chance  of  exception  ;  but  for  the  enjoyment  of 
praise,  the  ear  and  the  heart  is  open  at  every  season, 
and  every  hour  ;  we  say  to  ourselves,  "  Praise  is  air  ; 
the  only  thing  that  we  can,  and  must  perpetually 
swallow."  It  was  so  with  Flitt.  Newly  refreshed, 
he  drew  Walt  into  the  streets,  to  give  him  in  his  turn 
some  enjoyment.  As  his  old  creditors  hunted  him 
as  zealously  as  his  new,  he  had  learned  the  maxim 
of  the  Romans,  which,  after  Montesquieu,  was  to 
carry  the  war  as  far  as  possible  from  home.  Thus 
he  was  rarely  at  his  lodgings.  Both  walked  through 
the  environs,  and  Walt  was  very  happy.  Then, 
Flitt  would  show  him  the  city.    He  had  a  passing 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


161 


word  to  say  to  every  one.  He  nodded  to  the 
daughters  of  the  houses,  as  they  sat  in  morning 
dresses,  sewing  at  the  windows,  and  after,  without 
further  question,  wafted  a  kiss  within ;  a  degree  of 
ease,  which  Walt  thought  only  some  favorite  of 
French  society  could  reach.  Did  a  gentleman  canter 
by,  Flitt  sent  a  word  after  the  horse.  Was  there  a 
carriage  ready  at  a  door,  he  paused  till  the  travellers 
entered,  and  then  called  out,  that  he  should  soon 
follow  them  into  the  country.  Walt  was  presented  to 
every  one,  and  spoke  many  times.  He  went  with 
Flitt  to  the  postmaster,  that  he  might  ask  his  usual 
question  about  the  non-arrival  of  his  Marseilles  let- 
ters ;  and  explained  to  the  clerk  a  difiicult  French 
superscription,  whereby  "Walt  honestly  praised  his 
accent  and  pronunciation.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
believe,  that  they  afterwards  made  so  many  visits,  if 
we  were  not  quite  sure  it  was  so.  A  fter  visiting  the 
bobbin,  the  lace,  and  the  carpet  manufactories,  they 
went  from  thence  to  the  boarding  school  for  young 
ladies,  with  which  Vult  had  made  his  brother  well 
acquainted. 

Flitt  could  not  be  approached  in  the  fluency  of  his 
compliments  to  the  young  girls  ;  but  it  was  enough 
for  Walt  merely  to  look  at  these  beds  of  spiritual 
lilies,  so  close  together  that  one  foot-print  seemed  to 
tread  on  the  heel  of  another.  "  Ah,  ye  dear  ones," 
he  said  in  his  heart,  their  voices  were  so  gentle  and 
affectionate,  (are  women  ever  otherwise  ?)  "  ah,  ye 

VOL.  II.  11 


162 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


dear  ones,  in  the  midst  of  the  impure  life  of  the 
world,  where  all  the  streams  are  foul,  ye  live  sepa- 
rated, and  filled  with  your  own  purity.  In  the  salt 
ocean,  ye  are  a  little  island  where  fresh  water  may 
be  found." 

When  they  came  out,  they  found  spread  upon  a 
golden  salver  light  cakes,  rolls,  and  confectionary. 
This  salver,  a  present  from  an  old  king,  was  twice  a 
year  polished  and  ornamented,  and  carried  into  the 
market-place  to  be  admired  ;  but  always  under  the 
guard  of  a  small  company  of  foot-soldiers,  to  pro- 
tect it  from  the  careless  hands  of  the  common  chil- 
dren. 

From  the  boarding  school  for  young  ladies  they 
went  to  the  Marchande  des  Modes,  and  were  sur- 
rounded with  the  splendor  of  female  costumes  and 
fashions. 

Never  had  Walt  passed  so  gay,  so  delightful  a 
morning.  One  Pegasus  after  another  had  been  har- 
nessed to  his  small  triumphal  car,  and  had  borne  him 
onward.  He  looked  upon  Flitt's  life  as  a  perpetual 
dance,  continuing  from  breakfast  to  supper  ;  his  own, 
he  merely  considered  as  a  dance  upon  the  present 
wave  of  life,  and  he  enjoyed  it  more  on  Flitt's  ac- 
count than  his  own.  He  enjoyed,  indeed,  so  much 
in  Flitt  himself,  that  he  thought  him  inspired  with 
his  own  spirit.  The  sun-inspired  aroma  from  the 
Alsatian  fell  upon  him  as  a  poetical  fructifying  fa- 
rina, and,  as  he  walked  by  his  side,  he  made  upon 
him  the  following  epitaph. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


163 


"  EPITAPH  UPON   THE  ZEPHYR. 

"  Upon  the  earth  I  sported  and  played ;  sometimes 
with  the  flowers,  sometimes  with  the  blossoming 
branches,  and  sometimes  even  I  aspired  to  play 
with  the  little  sailing  clouds.  In  the  land  of  shad- 
ows, also,  I  shall  flutter  about  the  funereal  flowers, 
and  sport  in  the  shades  of  Elysium.  Stay  not, 
wanderer !  but  hasten  on  in  joy,  and  play  as  I 
do." 

About  one  o'clock,  Flitt  brought  him  into  the 
neighborhood  of  the  court.  "  We  are  going,"  he 
said,  "  into  the  Champs-elisees,  there  to  take  a  de- 
jeüner  dinatoirey  These,  so  called  Elysian  fields 
had  been  formerly  a  royal  garden,  and  had  opened 
the  way  to  other  public  gardens  in  the  country.  As 
they  walked  on,  they  met  with  warning  tablets,  ex- 
cluding children  and  dogs,  and  at  length  found 
everything  forbidden.  Even  in  paradise  itself,  were 
never  so  many  forbidden  trees,  and  prohibitions 
against  touching  fruit  or  flowers  ;  and  upon  all  the 
paths  bloomed  above,  or  grew  beneath,  prison  di- 
plomas. 

***** 
They  both  took  their  dejeuner  dinatoire,  of  morn- 
ing bread  and  morning  wine,  in  a  gay,  open  kiosk, 
not  far  from  the  house  of  the  gardener.  Walt  was 
beyond  measure  delighted.  The  ascending  and  de- 
scending terraces,  with  their  shadows  like  day  and 


164 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


night,  with  their  evanescent  pleasure  groups,  present- 
ed the  appearance  of  a  perpetual  spring  morning  ; 
then  the  little  groves,  out  of  which  gay-colored  sum- 
mer-houses were  peeping  like  tulips ;  the  painted 
bridges  and  white  statues  ;  the  regular  lines  of  hedges 
and  walks ;  all  these  filled  him  with  an  admiration 
that  he  could  not  express  to  the  Alsatian  in  suffi- 
ciently lively  colors.  It  was  easy  enough  for  Flitt 
to  express  his  admiration  ;  he  sketched  off  his  Claude 
Lorraine's  quite  courageously  with  one  stroke  and 
word,  Superb  !  "  Each  one  has,  however,  his  own 
select  shade  of  admiration  ;  one  says,  angelic !  an- 
other, heavenly  !  the  third,  divine !  the  fourth.  Ach. 
der  Teufel !  and  so  on. 

Walt  however  said,  although  to  himself,  "  This 
morning  we  have  lived,  or  I  am  terribly  mistaken, 
the  true,  fashionable  life  of  people  of  the  world. 
We  have  been  exactly  as  in  Versailles,  or  Fontaine- 
bleau,  and  Louis  quartorze  still  reigning.  It  would 
be  difficult  to  point  out  the  diffisrence."  There  had 
remained  in  Walt's  mind,  heaven  knows  from  what 
early  association,  a  most  romantic  idea  of  the  youth- 
ful period  of  life,  of  the  gallantry,  the  liberality, 
the  women,  and  the  court  of  the  victorious  Louis 
XIV. ;  so  that  his  youth,  with  its  festivities  and 
enjoyments,  hovered  before  his  imagination  as  if 
it  had  been  his  own.  Every  fountain  transported 
him  to  Marly ;  every  ornamented  walk  to  Ver- 
sailles ;  and  the  wretched  prints  of  this  place, 
nailed  upon  the  boundary  walls,  of  the  royal  palace, 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


165 


and  even  the  little  card  pictures  upon  his  writing-table, 
carried  him  upon  their  wings  to  that  happy  time  of 
courts,  if  not  of  people.  By  these  means  he  en- 
joyed in  this  garden  a  very  dilFerent  pleasure-arena, 
which  has  nov/  passed  away.  The  fantastic  image 
of  the  past  hung  like  fireworks  over  the  real  image 
lying  before  him.  Flitt,  fortunately,  for  he  always 
sought  a  new  companion  rather  than  the  one  he  was 
with,  did  him  the  favor  of  falling  into  discourse  with 
the  curator  of  the  garden,  and  thus  endowed  him 
with  a  little  precious  solitude,  in  which  to  indulge 
his  dreaminu;  excursions.  His  forenoon  had  been 
hourly  refining  from  pure  water  to  the  breath  of 
zephyrs,  and  from  this  to  the  ether,  which  holds 
nothing  in  solution,  and  flies  like  light  from  planet 
to  planet.  He  would  gladly  have  had  his  brother 
with  him.  He  saw  again,  in  a  brighter  light, 
Wina's  glance  beneath  the  waterfall.  He  was 
happy,  he  scarcely  knew  how  or  why.  His  torch 
burned  with  a  st  ady  flame  directly  upwards,  and 
no  little  breeze  caused  it  to  waver.  He  did  not 
make  a  single  line  of  poetry  ;  it  seemed  to  him  as 
though  he  were  himself  all  poetry ;  and  he  readily 
used,  as  his  own,  the  words  of  another  enthusiastic 
poet. 

As  he  stood  in  this  inward  harmony,  before  a  pe- 
culiar little  garden,  enclosed  in  the  larger,  he  touched, 
unconsciously,  a  little  bell.  It  had  scarcely  given 
one  or  two  strokes  when  a  portly  court  chamberlain, 


166 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


richly  dressed,  came,  uncovered,  towards  him,  to 
open  the  gate  for  some  one  of  the  royal  family.  But 
when  the  courtly  attendant  found  no  one  at  the  gate 
but  the  simple  notary,  he  scolded  the  astonished 
bell-ringer  in  one  of  the  longest  speeches  he  had 
ever  made ;  as  though  Walt,  without  cause,  had 
sounded  the  tocsin  of  alarm. 

But  Walt's  inward  being  was  so  lightly  and  firmly 
guarded,  that  nothing  outward  could  penetrate  to 
weigh  down  his  aerial  ship.  He  turned  immediately 
back  to  Flitt.  They  went  home.  The  great  dinner 
bells  called  the  town  together,  as,  two  hours  later, 
the  smaller  one,  would  the  court.  They  scattered 
Walt's  romance  ;  but  he  had  eaten  sufficiently,  and 
did  not  now  go  to  dinner. 

If  there  be  a  true  follower  of  the  clock,  or, 
rather,  a  clock  of  itself,  it  is  the  stomach.  The 
darker  and  more  earthly  the  being,  the  more  does  it 
know  of  time ;  as  is  proved  by  animals,  children, 
and  insane  persons.  It  is  only  a  spiritual  nature  that 
can  forget  time,  for  spirit  alone  creates  it.  If,  then, 
the  above-mentioned  stomach,  or  follower  of  the 
clock,  sets  his  dinner  clock  an  hour  too  fast,  or  an 
hour  too  slow,  he  leads  the  spirit  so  far  astray  that  it 
becomes  romantic  ;  for  the  spirit  itself,  with  all  its 
celestial  stars,  must  follow  these  corporeal  revolu- 
tions. The  breakfast  that  had  been  made  a  dinner, 
threw  Walt  so  far  from  the  trodden  path  in  which 
he  had  walked  the  last  ten  years,  that  every  stroke 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


167 


of  the  clock,  the  position  of  the  sun,  the  whole 
afternoon,  presented  a  strange  and  new  aspect. 
Perhaps  this  changing  of  all  time  into  irregular 
ebbs  and  flows,  as  in  actual  battle,  makes  war  to 
the  disciplined  soldier  a  season  of  romantic  enjoy- 
ment. 

Walt  now  wished  for  society  again,  and  he  ac- 
companied Flitt  to  a  billiard  room,  where  he  was 
surprised  to  hear  the  latter  count  the  numbers  in 
German  rather  than  in  French.  He  escaped  from 
the  unmeaning  spectacle,  and  went  alone  to  the 
beautiful  bank  of  the  river.  As  he  saw  the  poor 
people  there,  who  on  this  day  were  permitted  by  the 
laws  of  the  town  to  fish,  although  without  a  net,  and 
to  gather  wood,  although  without  an  axe,  he  excused 
his  own  pleasures  in  observing  theirs  ;  for  the  thought 
had  been  tormenting  him,  that  his  pleasures  to-day 
had  been  too  idle  and  aristocratic.  "  I,  too,"  he  said, 
"  have  revelled  too  luxuriously,  and  have  not  written 
a  word  of  the  romance.  To-morrow,  I  will  stay  at 
home  all  day."  The  long  evening  shadows  on  the 
shore,  and  the  long,  red  clouds,  were  to  him  like 
wings  that  bore  him  along. 

He  traversed  the  dim  twilight  streets,  prepared 
for  all  sorts  of  adventures,  till  the  moon  arose,  and 
became  his  lunar  clock.  Then  the  confusion  in  his 
mind  disappeared,  and  his  stomach  knew  the  hour. 
Backward  and  forward,  before  Wina's  lighted  apart- 
ment, he  bore  his  excited  heart,  till  there  sank  down 


168 


WALT  AND  VÜLT, 


within  it  a  silent  aspiration,  as  if  from  heaven ;  and 
the  earthly  day  was  crowned  by  the  most  sacred 
hour  of  heaven.* 


No.  52.    Ä  worn  out  ßy-catcher. 


*  The  next  chapter  relates  only  the  attacks  of  Flitt's  numerous 
creditors,  and  his  stratagems  to  elude  or  get  rid  of  them.  As 
there  is  much  the  same  relation  in  the  first  volume,  I  have 
omitted  it,  except  the  last  sentence,  to  connect  the  narrative  with 
the  twentieth  chapter.  —  TV. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


169 


CHAPTER  XX. 

PAINTING.      BILL   OF  EXCHANGE. 

In  the  evening  of  the  second  day,  the  Caffatier 
Fraisse  came  into  their  apartment,  merely  for  the 
purpose  of  politely  observing,  that  it  was  his  ancient 
and  invariable  custom,  to  present  his  account  every 
evening  to  his  guests  from  the  town,  that  they  might 
look  it  over,  and  keep  the  balance. 

Walt  saw  now,  for  the  first  time,  a  French  or  Al- 
satian quarrel,  such  as  he  could  never  have  imagined, 
without  blows.  It  was  the  rushing  of  a  war-carriage, 
armed  with  the  scythes  of  death,  looks,  oaths  and  fierce 
pantomime.  At  length,  the  money  was  thrown  at 
Fraisse's  feet,  or  rather  at  his  head,  and  they  prepared 
for  their  departure.  With  melancholy  steps  they  went 
to  the  empty  house  of  Dr.  Hut,  who  was  absent  upon  a 
journey.  Walt  only  made  the  flame  of  Flitt's  wrath 
burn  more  intensely,  by  the  bellows  of  his  peace 
sermon.  An  intervening  hour  was  the  only  Epicte- 
tus  (or  peace-maker)  for  Flitt. 

Gaily  and  lightly  flew  the  hours,  both  within  and  with- 
out the  many-roomed  house  of  Dr.  Hut,  laden  with 
honey  when  they  returned  from  without.  In  this  sunny 
island  of  innocent  joy,  there  was  no  politely-vulgar 


170 


WALT  AND  VT7LT, 


Fraisse  to  annoy  them,  no  money-hunters,  nor  money- 
finders,  aiming  at  the  game  enclosed  by  contract ;  none 
of  the  five  classes,  the  Pentateuch  of  creditors,  remind- 
ing them  of  the  decay  and  consumption  of  life. 
They  heard  only  little  songs,  and  sounds  of  joy. 
There  were  many  little  avenues  in  this  New  Jerusa- 
lem, where  they  could  hide  from  the  Jews  of  the 
old,  and  also  from  Christians  of  the  new  ;  and  Flitt 
could  take  refuge  from  these  arsenic-kings  of  metal, 
that  were  a  true  poison  to  him,  in  some  sullen  corner 
of  the  house. 

Walt,  however,  was  not  so  blind  as  not  to  remark 
something  of  all  this.  "  I  would  I  were  less  clear- 
sighted," he  said  to  himself,  "  when  I  think  how  gay 
and  free-hearted  the  generous  man  is  in  the  midst  of 
all  his  difficulties,  and  how  perfectly  so  he  would  be 
without  these  torments  —  for  really  some  people  need 
only  to  be  rich,  to  be  perfectly  virtuous. — Then  how 
charmingly  he  talks  of  being  rich  ;  in  truth,  I  could 
see  no  fairer  day  than  that  in  which  the  poor  fool 
should  find  his  apartment  filled  with  bags  and  chests 
of  gold.  How  easily  would  such  a  man  be  helped 
by  the  interest  of  the  interest,  of  the  interest  of  the 
national  debt  of  England  ! "  He  asked  why,  since 
all  classes  of  sufferers  have  their  holidays,  there 
should  be  none  set  apart  for  the  German  debtor ; 
while  in  England,  every  Sunday  is  a  day  of  rest  to 
the  persecuted  ear  of  the  debtor,  as  even  to  the 
damned,  for  according  to  the  religion  of  the  Jews, 
upon  the  Sabbath,  the  feasts  of  the  new  moon,  and 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


171 


the  weekly  hour  of  prayer,  Hell  dies  away,  and  a 
soft,  cool  Indian  summer  of  the  past  life  hovers  over 
the  burning  abyss. 

Flitt  and  Walt  lived  on,  through  the  week,  ever 
more  genially  and  lovingly  together.  They  would 
rather  have  repeated  the  trial  than  come  to  the  end 
of  the  week  of  probation.  The  warm,  affectionate 
nature  that  surrounded  Walt,  like  an  electrical  at- 
mosphere, was  something  new  and  attractive  to  Flitt, 
so  that  at  last  he  could  not  leave  him,  or  go  out  of  the 
house  without  him.  Walt  dwelt  so  much  the  more 
upon  this  passing  time,  as  he  felt  that  neither  could 
truly  benefit  the  other.  Their  nervous  sytems  had, 
as  it  were,  entwined  themselves  together ;  they  had 
become  united  like  polypi ;  yet  each  selected  and 
supplied  himself  separately  whh  food,  so  that  neither 
could  receive  nourishment  nor  support  from  the 
other. 

The  last  day  of  the  week  of  service,  and  of  their  short 
honey-moon,  arrived.  Walt  avoided  all  last  words, 
all  sharp  endings,  even  a  parting  sigh.  A  pianofortist 
belonging  to  Vult's  musical  company,  had  announced 
his  return  to  Walt,  and  Dr.  Hut  was  also  expected 
that  evening.  Flitt  entreated  him,  upon  this  last  af- 
ternoon that  they  should  be  together,  to  accompany 
him  to  Raphaela's,  who  was  to  give  him  a  short  sit- 
ting, for  a  miniature  portait,  for  her  mother's  birth- 
day. "  We  three  shall  be  superb  together,"  he  add- 
ed. "  When  I  am  painting,  I  do  not  say  much,  and 
yet  the  face  of  a  friend  animates  the  countenance  of 


172 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


the  sitter  inconceivably."  Although  Walt  did  not  find 
it  very  courteous  to  be  dragged  in  as  an  exciting  ma- 
chine before  the  face  of  a  sitter,  yet  he  followed. 
He  had  been  accustonned  already,  for  a  week,  to  be 
frequently  astonished  at  the  want  of  delicate  and  re- 
fined feeling,  not  only  in  the  market-place  of  the  city, 
but  in  the  best  houses,  which  had  externally  a  bril- 
liant aspect, 

Raphaela  smiled  on  both,  from  the  top  of  the  stairs, 
and  led  them  hastily  into  her  writing-room  ;  here 
they  found,  already  prepared,  wine,  ices,  and  cakes. 
A  woman  can  more  easily  guess  at  the  appetite  than 
the  heart  of  a  man ;  yet,  after  all,  she  does  not  know 
what  beverage  to  present  at  four  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon. One  servant  after  another  looked  in  at  the 
door,  to  ascertain  and  execute  her  wishes,  and  the 
whole  domestic  choir  seemed  to  consider  hers  the 
golden  rule  of  Saturn.  The  evening  sun  streaming 
fuller  and  fuller  into  the  room,  and  the  light  of  hap- 
piness upon  each  countenance,  heightened  the  pecu- 
liar charms  of  the  maiden,  and  of  the  situation. 
Flitt,  was  not  wholly  false  towards  Raphaela,  but 
almost  a  fifth  part  true^  a  fifth  part  gallant,  a  fifth, 
kind,  a  fifth,  selfish  and  avaricious,  and  a  fifth,  he 
knew  not  what.  She  said,  much  to  Walt's  satisfac- 
tion, "  You  must  not  flatter  my  face,  it  will  be  of  no 
use,  make  it  only  so  that  ma  chere  mere  may  recog- 
nize it." 

Walt  secretly  rejoiced  that  he  now  stood  under  his 
own  hired  roof,  at  the  same  time  guest  and  tenant  ; 


OR  THE  TWINS 


173 


and  that  moreover,  he  felt  not  the  least  embarrass- 
ment, while  the  most  aristocratic  perfume,  and  the 
most  incomprehensible  furniture  was  in  every  corner. 
"  Could  I,  as  a  peasant's  son  in  Elterlein,  have  ima- 
gined such  things?"  he  thought. 

Flitt  now  took  out  his  easel  and  brushes,  and  told 
his  model,  that  the  more  freely  and  naturally  she 
sat,  the  better  it  would  be  for  the  painter.  She, 
however,  might  as  well  have  been  sitting  at  the  north 
pole,  while  he  took  his  station  at  the  south,  the  like- 
ness would  have  been  quite  as  successful  ;  being  no 
wonderful  artist,  FHtt  could  only  hit  olT  the  drapery* 
She,  however,  sat  down,  and  put  on  the  sitting  face, 
which  people  always  assume  when  their  portraits  are 
taken.  The  masque  nolle  which  is  put  on  under 
such  circumstances,  is  the  coldest  into  which  their 
features  are  ever  moulded,  so  that  the  living  face  is 
much  less  frequently  a  likeness  when  painted,  than 
the  bust  or  statue. 

Walt  soon  became  full  of  excitement  and  warmth, 
but  rather  to  portray  himself,  than  to  assist  at  the 
painting  of  another.  He  poured  out  admirably  well, 
extracts  from  his  last  journey  round  the  world  ;  and 
insinuated  among  them  the  circumstance  of  having 
seen  her  friend  Wina  near  the  waterfall.  Of  all 
story-tellers,  the  narrators  of  travels  are  the  richest 
and  most  acceptable.  In  the  compass  of  a  journey 
over  one-millionth  part  of  the  world,  they  can  bring 
in  the  whole  world,  and  none  can  contradict  them. 
Walt  wished  to  exhibit  his  talent  at  the  picturesque, 


174 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


in  summer  and  autumn  painting.  Flitt's  portrait  fur- 
nished the  winter  landscape.  Raphaela  was  com- 
pletely enchanted  by  it,  but  soon  brought  back  the 
discourse  to  her  friend  Wina,  in  order  to  carry  it  on 
alone.  She  described  with  excessive  warmth  the 
charms  of  her  person,  and  the  beauty  of  her  actions. 
She  pointed  to  a  small  mahogany  casket  where  her 
letters  were  deposited,  and  showed  the  so-called 
Wina's  corner  in  the  apartment,  where  she  usually 
sat  to  look  at  the  setting  sun  through  the  avenues  of 
the  park  ;  and  while  thus  talking,  her  countenance 
became  wholly  brilliant  and  amiable.  To  judge  by 
the  silent  eyes  of  the  notary,  he  was  listening  to  all 
this,  although  within  his  silent  heart  he  was  shouting 
loudly,  carrying  on  artes  semper  gaudendi ;  acting  a 
comedy ;  pronouncing  a  blessing  over  Wina  and 
himself ;  he  even  so  far  forgot  himself  as  to  sit,  as  it 
were  accidentally,  in  Wina's  corner. 

Flilt  could  not  tell  how  he  had,  all  at  once,  reach- 
ed the  felicity  of  having,  instead  of  the  usual  ennui, 
so  much  lively  talk  going  on  at  the  last  sitting,  and  of 
getting  Raphaela  into  such  a  state  of  enthusiasm. 
Walt  accidentally  drew  back  the  window  curtain,  and 
the  sun  threw  a  warm  tint  upon  Raphaela's  counte- 
nance, so  that  she  turned  it  aside.  Flitt  sprang  up, 
showed  her  the  picture,  and  asked  if  it  were  not  half 
stolen  from  her  beautiful  eyes  }  "  Half!  Wholly  !  " 
said  Walt  honestly,  but  simply,  for  she  might  as  well 
have  sat  for  a  likeness  with  the  back  of  the  head, 
and  her  steel  comb  towards  the  painter.  The 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


175 


Alsatian  gave  her,  at  this  remark,  a  few  kisses. 
They  were  too  abrupt,  and  unreserved  —  emotions 
that  are  seen,  as  well  as  those  that  are  described, 
must  have,  for  the  spectator,  a  sufficient  motive. 
Walt  looked  hastily  into  the  park,  and  then  arose. 
"  I  should  be  a  mere  Satan,"  he  thought,  "  if  I  were 
not  willing  another  should  kiss  her  ;  "  and  then  slip- 
ped away,  under  the  pretence  of  looking  at  the  land- 
scape, to  his  own  room.  As  soon  as  the  door  was 
closed,  Flitt  turned  from  the  beautiful  lips,  and  began 
painting  them  again,  most  industriously,  while  Walt 
in  his  own  room,  said,  "  how  must  they^  so  richly 
blessed,  be  now  exchanging  their  vows  of  love,  and 
the  evening  sun  shedding  a  glory  upon  them."  The 
cornucopia  of  evening  roses  was  overflowing  with 
richer  colors,  and  more  profusely  even,  in  his  own 
mean  apartment,  although  his  small  rooms,  his  living 
and  his  sleeping  chamber,  presented  a  strong  contrast 
to  the  ornamented  ones  he  had  just  left,  and  he  mea- 
sured silently  the  abyss  that  divided  from  them,  his 
outward  fortune.  He  became  soft-hearted,  and 
merely  from  the  longing  he  felt,  at  least,  to  witness 
affection,  he  was  about  to  go  down  again,  when  Vult 
hastily  entered. 

Upon  his  heart,  into  his  heart,  Walt  flew.  "  Ah, 
it  is  so  heavenly  that  you  should  have  come  just 
now  !  "  Vult,  turning  away,  but  with  a  gentle  voice, 
began  (after  his  usual  manner)  to  ask  about  the 
adventures  of  others,  before  telling  his  own.  Walt 
related  freely  and  gaily,  the  result  of  his  notary 


176 


WALT  AND  VULT 


affairs,  and  the  loss  of  the  seventy  trees.  "  It  is 
a  pity,  however,"  said  Vult,  coolly,  "  that  I  am 
myself  a  spendthrift,  and  despise  money,  otherwise, 
I  would  show  you  from  reason,  conscience,  history, 
how  much  and  how  justly  1  execrate  my  likeness  to 
another,  even  to  yourself.  Contejnpt  of  money 
makes  far  more,  and  far  better  people  miserable, 
than  a  too  great  value  for  riches,  hence  men  are 
often  made  known  to  others  pro  prodigo,  never  pro 
acaroy 

"  Rather  a  full  heart  than  a  full  purse,"  said  Walt 
gaily,  and  began  immediately  to  speak  of  the  new 
condition  of  the  will  he  had  been  fulfilling,  and  of 
the  charming  week  with  Flitt,  ending  with  the  praise 
of  the  Alsatian.  "  How  often,"  he  said,  "  in  our  quiet, 
winged,  festive  hours,  did  I  wish  for  thee  !  you  would 
have  learnt  to  judge  him  less  harshly  —  for  indeed, 
you  are  hard  upon  him,  dear  brother !  " 

"  Flitt,  then,  seems  to  you  of  an  elevated,  spiritual 
order,  or  something  of  that  sort,  and  his  levity  mere- 
ly the  wings  and  sails  of  his  poetical  nature  ?  "  asked 
Vult. 

"  No  1  have  certainly,"  answered  Walt, "  well 

understood  the  difference  between  his  beautiful  gaiety 
of  temperament,  that  lives,  only  in  the  present 
moment,  and  the  poetical  nature,  only  lightly  hover- 
ing over  it  ;  he  enjoys,  not  much  indeed,  by  reflec- 
tion." 

"  Has  he  caused  you  to  make  no  great  mistakes 
in  the  probation  week,  which  you  selected  for  your- 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


177 


self  without  foreign  council,  that  may  cost  you  a  few 
more  trees  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Walt,  "  he  has  helped  me  to  get  rid 
of  many  errors  in  speaking  French,"  and  Walt  went 
on  to  ask  if  Flitt  had  not  shown  him  the  delicacy  of 
the  language,  for  example,  that  one  should  seldom 
or  never,  when  asking  an  explanation,  say  comment  7 
but  more  politely,  Monsieur  7  or  Madame  ?  Did  he 
not  clearly  explain  to  me  how  stupid  it  is  to  say 
porte-chaise^  when  we  may  choose  between  chaise  d 
porteur,  and  porteurs  de  chaise  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  suppose,"  said  Vult,  "  that  these  les- 
sons in  the  French  language  will  cost  you  more  than 
the  remainder  of  the  Kable  forest !  " 

"  Ah  !  I  wish  the  poor  fellow  had  fewer  credit- 
ors, and  more  money,"  said  Walt.  "  That  is  the  rock 
upon  which  you  will  split,"  said  the  other.  "  Who 
is  poor,  makes  poor  ;  the  ruined,  ruins  ;  were  it  only 
that  he  has  every  day  to  invent  a  new  lie  for  the 
same,  or  another  creditor.  Every  day,  another^  and 
a  different  have  I  often  heard  a  debtor  repeat  to 
his  hand-pledged  creditor  ;  and  have  wished  myself 
to  possess  the  unpremeditated  poetry  and  music  by 
which  he  plays  such  endless  variations  upon  the  same 
theme — " 

"  I  will  let  you  finish,"  said  Walt  calmly,  and, 
after  a  succession  of  sarcasms  and  reproaches  from 
Vult,  he  said,  "  I  can  tell  you,  for  I  am  sure  of  it, 
that  the  man  is  not  so  bad,  and  far  enough  from 

VOL,.  II.  13 


178 


WALT  AND  VÜLT, 


being  hard-hearted  ;  through  the  poor  themselves,  as 
you  say,  he  has  become  poor.  I  paid,  but  without 
his  knowledge,  and  merely  through  sympathy  with 
him,  two  tailorcsses  that  he  had  employed  from 
pure  compassion,  (for  he  required  a  tailor  only ;)  but 
thus  it  always  is,  the  unfortunate  are  reproached  for 
their  misfortunes." 

At  this,  the  anger  of  his  brother  broke  forth.  "  A 
devilish  way  of  proceeding,"  he  cried.  "  It  is 
like  setting  a  house  on  fire  in  the  middle  of  Decem- 
ber, that  the  poor  may  divide  some  of  the  burning 
brands  among  them.  None  are  more  liberal  in  pres- 
ents than  those  who  hesitate  not  to  defraud  others. 
Nothing  is  more  deceptive  than  a  fair  morass,  where 
if  one  ventures,  one  sinks.  Tyrants,  and  sentimental 
robbers  can  sing  and  complain  like  seraphims  ;  and  if 
there  is  anything  hateful  upon  earth,  it  is  this  union 
of  stealing  and  giving,  of  plundering  and  present- 
ing." 

O  God  !  "  said  Walt,  "  how  can  a  mortal  judge 
so  severely  ?  Is  not  a  man  then  permitted  to  love 
and  favor  himself  a  little,  when  he  is  compelled  to 
live  the  whole  time  with  himself;  to  talk,  to  listen,  to 
think  only  of  himself  ?  This  perpetual  companion- 
ship would  at  length  make  me  indulgent  to  the  lowest 
animal  or  devil,  and  almost  reconcile  me  to  their 
society.  Who  then,  throughout  all  eternity,  will 
take  so  much  interest  in  him,  as  this  poor  devil  must 
take  in  himself  ?  I  know  very  well  what  1  am  say- 
ing, and  all  the  objections  you  would  urge  ;  but  pray 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


179 


tell  me,  if  in  cold  blood,  without  the  excuse  of  pas- 
sion, you  thus  condemn  these  unfortunate  men,  what 
would  be  the  case  in  a  state  of  warm  excitement, 
when  every  sentiment  is  exaggerated  ?  Perhaps, 
like  the  watch  of  which  you  told  me,  where  the  point- 
ers are  true  and  faithful  to  the  index  in  cold  weather, 
but  are  expanded  so  much  by  the  heat  as  to  stop  the 
machinery." 

"  Have  you  not  been  drinking  ?  "  asked  Vult, 
"  you  talk  so  much  to-day  —  although,  indeed  —  very 
well." 

At  this  hint,  Walt  invited  his  brother  to  go  down 
and  take  wine  with  them ;  and  to  convince  himself 
with  his  own  ears,  that  the  life  he  had  passed  with  Flitt 
had  not  been  so  very  contemptible.  "  Merely  for  the 
sake  of  the  folly,  I  will  do  it,"  he  said,  "  although  I 
am  sure  the  two  simple  citizens  will  get  up  a  jubilee 
of  vanity  at  the  condescension  of  my  nobility  ;  but 
you,  with  a  delicacy  that  cannot  be  appreciated,  will 
know  how  to  excuse  me." 

"  Herr  Von  Harnish,"  said  Walt,  as  he  introduced 
him,  "  found  me  in  my  chamber,  and  I  could  not 
more  delightfully  express  my  satisfaction  at  his  visit, 
than  by  imparting  it,  at  the  same  moment,  to  him, 
and  to  you,  Mademoiselle  !  "  He  threw  in  this 
excuse  so  lightly  ;  and,  partly  from  the  effect  of 
Flitt's  polishing-wheel,  that  the  wine  had  helped  to 
oil,  moved  so  easily  about  the  apartment,  that  Vult, 
although  secretly  angry,  could  but  laugh.  Our  own 
vanity  is  not  wonderfully  complacent  the  first  time 


180  WALT  AND  VULT, 

a  man,  whom  we  have  hitherto,  through  that  very- 
vanity  looked  upon  as  helpless,  helps  himself,  or  sur- 
passes us. 

Vult  M'as  very  courteous  ;  talked  of  painting  and 
sitting ;  praised  Flitt's  miniature,  as,  in  point  of  art, 
apparently  a  likeness,  although  in  point  of  color,  the 
face  presented  only  the  flush  and  pallor  of  fever  ; 
and  thus  allured  his  brother  on  to  the  expression  of 
sincere  praise,  and,  as  he  thought,  of  flattering  ten- 
derness in  the  words,  "  that  Raphaela  was  not 
indeed  far  from  Raphael." 

They  attacked  the  flute-player  warmly  about  his 
music,  then  fell  quickly  upon  his  blindness,  and  inquir- 
ed very  anxiously  about  the  present  state  of  his  eyes. 
Vult  cut  them  short  with  the  remark,  that  was 
merely  one  of  his  jokes,  and  is  past.  "  Herr  Notary, 
how  can  we  both  stand  so  idle,  without  helping  on  the 
painting Cannot  one  of  us  read  aloud,  and  I  will 
blow  the  accompaniment }  Is  there  nothing  there  ? 
How  often  in  my  travels  have  I  seen  people  sitting 
for  their  portraits,  who  have  been  immediately  elevat- 
ed, and  all  the  countenance  unfolded,  as  it  were,  by 
music  ;  for  nothing  so  expands  the  physiognomy  into 
that  fair  life  that  the  painter  can  seize  upon,  as  the 
reading  of  something  exciting,  that  can  be  accompa- 
nied with  music." 

Raphaela  said  she  should  receive  most  gratefully 
the  double  gift  of  declamation  and  music.  Vult 
seized  upon  an  Almanac  of  the  muses  that  was  lying 
near,  turned  over  the  leaves^  and  said,  "  he  must 


OR  THE  TWINS.  181 


complain,  that  in  all  the  late  musical  annuals,  as  in 
the  works  of  Jean  Paul,  the  serious  contrasted  too 
severely  with  the  comic ;  but  perhaps  with  the  flute 
he  might  draw  harmony  from  these  discords  ; "  and 
reaching  the  book  to  Walt,  he  desired  him  to  read  an 
elegy,  and  then  to  go  on  without  pause,  to  a  satirical 
epistle,  and  a  drinking  song. 

They  were  suddenly  interrupted  by  a  very  differ- 
ent discord,  of  four  feet  in  height,  that  politely,  with 
hat  in  hand,  entered  the  apartment.  It  was  the  tra- 
velling clerk  of  the  merchant  in  Marseilles,  with 
whom  Flitt  had  long  been  connected,  who  presented 
him  a  bill  of  exchange  which  had  become  due. 

Flitt  instantly  lost  the  color  he  had  lent  to  Rapha- 
ela's  portrait,  and  was  a  moment  silent,  when  it 
returned  in  a  richer  glow,  as  he  asked  the  clerk, 
"  why  he  presented  the  bill  so  late  in  the  day  upon 
which  it  became  due  ?  " 

The  clerk  smiled,  and  answered,  "  that  he  had 
sought  him  in  vain,  much  to  his  own  inconvenience, 
for  he  must  depart  the  moment  the  note  was  paid." 
Flitt  drew  him  aside  for  only  one  word,  but  in  the 
midst  of  that  word  the  stranger  returned,  shrugging 
his  shoulders,  with  the  remark,  "  that  the  Saxon  laws 
with  regard  to  debtors  were  good  in  Haslau."  Rather 
would  Flitt  have  been  sent  to  the  place  of  condemned 
spirits,  for  there,  at  least,  is  good  society,  than  into 
the  hermitage  of  a  prison ;  and  he  strode  without  a 
very  composed  countenance,  up  and  down  the  room, 
murmuring  short  interjections,  and  low  curses.  At 


182 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


last  he  whispered  a  few  words  in  French  in  Rapha- 
ela's  ear.  She  requested  the  clerk  to  have  patience, 
till  she  received  an  answer  to  the  little  note  she  was 
writing  to  her  father,  praying  for  his  security. 

Flitt  sat  down  again  gaily,  to  paint,  but  this  pride 
was  only  the  foil,  of  which  the  clerk  possessed  the  true 
jewel.  Walt  fluttered  as  anxiously  about  his  cage, 
as  Flitt  did  within  it,  and  followed  all  the  motions  of 
the  imprisoned  bird.  Vult,  meantime,  observed  sharp- 
ly the  travelling  clerk.  "  Have  I  not  seen  you 
before,"  he  said,  "  in  the  environs  of  Spalletto,  from 
whence,  it  is  well  known,  the  ancient  Romans  brought 
their  sacrificial  animals,  on  account  of  their  color,  of 
pure  white  "  *'  I  was  never  there,"  he  answered  ; 
"  I  travel  merely  to  the  north.  My  name  indeed  is 
Italian,  for  my  grandparents  were  of  that  country." 
"  He  is  called  Mr.  Paridisi,"  said  Flitt. 

At  last  came  Newpeter's  answer.  Flitt  looked 
eagerly  with  Raphaela  into  the  open  note.  "  I 
believe  thou  art  intoxicated !  Thy  father,  P.  N." 
Deeply  wounded,  Raphaela  cast  her  eyes  to  the 
earth.  Paridisi  stepped  politely  before  her,  and  be- 
sought her  forgiveness  for  interrupting  her,  and  her 
friends  in  the  precious  hour  consecrated  to  painting ; 
"  but  Herr  Flitt,"  he  added,  "is  in  fact  somewhat  to 
blame."  "  O,  sacre  !  how  am  I  ?  "  he  asked.  "  You 
will  return  this  way  from  the  north  ?  "  asked  Rapha- 
ela, "  and  when  }  "  "  In  six  months,  from  Peters- 
burg." She  looked  at  him,  and  then  at  Walt,  with 
most  beseeching  eyes.    "  Herr  Paridisi,  I  will  ven- 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


183 


ture  a  word  with  you,"  she  said.  "  The  army- 
paymaster,  who  has  had  services  from  Herr  Flitt, 
must  then  have  paid  him  ;  will  you  not  then  accept 
of  bail,  till  your  return,  noble  Signor?  Mr.  Har- 
nish,"  she  said,  and  drew  Walt  into  her  sleeping 
apartment. 

"  Only  one  word,  Herr  Notary ! "  cried  Vult. 
"  Immediately^^''  Walt  answered,  and  followed  Ra- 
phaela. 

"  Ah  !  good  Harnish  ! she  began,  in  a  low  voice, 
"  I  beseech  you,  even  with  tears.  I  know  you  have 
a  noble  heart,  and  that  you  love  poor  Flitt  so  truly  ; 
for  I  am  assured  of  it  from  himself,  —  and  he  de- 
serves it.  He  would  go  through  the  fire  for  a  friend. 
With  these  tears  I  — "  but  the  deafening  sound  of 
the  drum,  for  new  recruits  to  the  army,  compelled 
her,  reluctantly,  to  be  silent. 

During  the  noise,  Walt  took  her  white,  wax-like 
hand,  and  looked  into  her  large,  round,  tearful  eyes, 
that  he  might,  if  possible,  guess  her  wishes.  "  With 
joy,  I  would  do  all — everything,"  he  cried,  charmed 
by  the  perfumed  cabinet,  now  full  of  evening  sun- 
light, with  the  group  of  Love  and  Psyche,  and  gilded 
time-pieces,  over  which  genii  hovered,  "  aZZ,  knew  I 
only  what." 

"  Your  security  for  Flitt,"  she  began,  "  else  he 
must  this  very  day — go  to  prison,"  she  added.  Here 
in  Haslau  there  is  not  a  man  that  will  give  him 
either  credit  or  bail ;  not  even  my  dear  father.   Oh ! 


184 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


were  my  Wina  here  !  or  had  I  only  my  pin-money 
again !  * 

"  Herr  Notary  Harnish,"  cried  Vult  from  the 
painting-room,  "  you  are  wanted  here." 

"  I  am,  in  fact,  most  happy,"  said  Walt,  "  to  be 
able  to  do  what  you  desire,"  and  took  the  hands  she 
had  raised.  "  These  valuable  toys,  also,  upon  the 
table,  did  you  make  these  for  children  ?  "  "  Ah  !  I 
would  rather  that  I  had  the  money  they  cost,"  she 
answered. 

"  With  what  sentiments,"  said  Walt,  "  I  shall 
give  my  security  to  Mr.  Paridisi  (for  I  shall  become 
bail  for  Flitt),  I  need  not  express  to  you  in  this 
chamber  ;  trust  in  me."  She  started  back  from  an 
almost  half  embrace,  offered  by  herself,  pressed 
Walt's  hand,  and  led  him  joyously  back  to  the  com- 
pany, whom  she  informed  of  all.  The  travelling 
clerk  was  profuse  and  earnest  in  his  thanks  to  the 
lady,  but  delicately  insinuated  the  question,  who 
would  answer  for  the  security  being  paid  She 
wrote  hastily  a  petition  to  her  father,  whom  the  clerk 
had  long  known  to  be  firm  and  solid,  that  the  bail 
should  be  secured  upon  Walt's  future  inheritance. 
Paridisi  departed,  kissing  her  hand,  and  promising 
another  visit. 

Vult  now  asked  the  notary,  in  a  friendly  manner. 


*  This  term,  in  German,  is  not  applied,  merely  to  the  money 
allowed  to  a  wife,  but  to  any  money  appropriated  to  a  young 
lady's  personal  expenses. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


185 


to  go  with  him,  for  one  moment,  to  his  own  cham- 
ber. Upon  the  stairs,  he  cried  out,  "  Heaven  !  hell ! 
are  you  mad  ?  Open  the  door  !  quick  !  Hasten,  I 
beseech  you.  Oh,  Walt !  what  have  you  done  in 
that  sleeping  chamber  ?  The  lock  will  not  turn  — 
there  is  a  crumb  in  the  keyhole  —  knock  it  out.  Is 
man  then  eternally  a  dog,  that  he  must  be  forever 
watched  ?  What  have  you  done  in  that  chamber  ? 
Another  folly?  a  repetition  of  thyself?  But  thus 
thou  art !  always,  everywhere  the  same  !  Thank 
God  !  tiie  key  turns."    The  room  was  open. 

"  I  am  completely  astonished  —  "  Walt  began. 
"  You  did  not  observe,"  Vult  continued,  "  that  all 
was  a  snare  of  Satan,  by  which  they  would  make 
you  responsible  for  the  bail,  ensnare  you  into  the 
stocks,  and,  according  to  that  foolish  article  in  the 
will,  make  you  pay  interest  as  long  as  you  sit 
there."*  ''I  fear  nothing,"  said  Walt.  "You 
hope,  indeed,  that  the  old  merchant  has  already  cut 
off  your  credit,  and  that  they  will  not  take  your  se- 
curity ?  "  "  Heaven  forbid  !  "  said  Walt.  "  Then 
you  will  be  his  bail  ?  "    "  By  heaven  !  yes  !  " 

The  flute-player  sank  down  upon  a  chair,  as  if 
stunned,  and  stared  straight  before  him  ;  resting  his 
hands  upon  his  upraised,  right-angled  knees,  mur- 
muring to  himself,  in  a  low  tone,  "  Now  God  have 


*  In  the  ninth  clause  of  the  will,  it  is  said,  that  day's  journeys, 
and  the  time  passed  in  prison,  cannot  be  deducted  from  the  season 
of  probation. 


186 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


pity,  if  he  will !  This  is  the  vintage  that  I  gather ; 
and,  after  all  my  hurrying  exertions  to  be  here,  the 
devil  manages  as  he  pleases  !  This  is  the  result  of 
my  forced  marches,  sometimes  before,  sometimes 
behind,  like  a  provost  of  the  army,  suffering  every 
inconvenience.  I  swear,  I  had  rather  a  thousand 
times  take  the  sailors  from  a  wreck,  in  the  midst  of 
a  storm,  with  a  rope  tied  to  their  beards,  than  be 
tormented  with  a  poet,  who  disarranges  and  spoils  all 
reasonable  plans.  I  had  rather  mount  the  Brocken, 
the  very  last  of  the  corpse  bearers,  supporting  the 
tail  of  the  procession,  than  follow  a  poet  up  and 
down  through  all  his  whims.  This  honest  brother  of 
mine,  who  is  not,  indeed,  wholly  a  fool,  believes  a 
poet  inferior  to  these  thievish  villains,  who  surround 
and  tread  upon  him,  as  the  potter  upon  the  clay." 

"  I  wish  to  understand  you,"  said  Walt,  in  a  very 
serious  tone ;  for  the  most  indulgent  spirit  may,  at 
last,  become  severe  against  one  who  always  judges 
men  with  severity  or  injustice. 

"  As  I  said  before,"  continued  Vult,  "  that  can  the 
poet  not  do.  In  vain  does  a  favorite  twin-brother  ride 
after  him,  as  Suwarrow  rode  after  a  Cossack ;  it  is 
of  no  use,  he  only  exhibits  his  folly,  and  that  to  the 
whole  world." 

"  To  believe  in  humanity,"  Walt  replied,  "  to 
trust  in  another  as  in  one's-self,  through  one's  own 
heart  to  know  and  esteem  a  stranger,  is  all  that  con- 
cerns my  honor  and  life.  The  devil  take  the  rest ! 
How }  greater  men,  in  greater  dangers,  have  trusted 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


187 


Others,  both  in  life  and  in  death.  An  Alexander  has 
drunk  the  apparently  poisoned  cup,  while  his  phy- 
sician was  reading  the  letter  that  accused  him  of 
treachery  ;  and  should  I  not  believe  in  the  warm 
tears  of  a  benevolent  girl  ?  No !  I  would  rather 
take  this  staff,  which  is  indeed  a  beggar's  staff,  and 
let  it  go  with  me  as  far  as  my  feet  can  bear  me  —  " 

"  No  beggar  can  go  farther,"  said  Vult,  "  but  you 
interrupted  me.  Once  more,  patience,  brother  !  You 
would  sacrifice,  with  perfect  indifference,  father, 
mother,  twin-brother,  aZZ,  to  people  of  whom — I  will 
say  no  more  ;  reflect  upon  all ;  seventy  notarial  trees 
already  felled  !  such  an  unexpected  linking  of  so 
many  chains  with  so  many  of  your  errors  upon  that 
journey  to  Rosenhof!  and,  in  fact,  to-day  you  are 
excited  through  the  wine  —  but  to  conclude,  you 
hovered,  with  the  wings  of  the  falcon  and  the  kite, 
about  the  affianced  heart  of  the  sitter,  and  made  use 
of  the  wretched  pencil  of  the  bridegroom  as  a  decoy 
bird  ;  you  !  mocking-bird  and  bird  of  prey  in  one ! 
Ah,  now  you  blush  !  *  What  signify  Raphaela's 
tears  ?  believe  me,  loomen  have  deepe?^  sorrows  than 
those  at  which  they  weepJ' 

"  God  !  how  much  more  melancholy  then  !  "  cried 
Walt.  "  Women  and  millers,"  continued  Vult, 
"  hold  secret  vents,  with  which  to  reduce  their  corn 
to  meal,  while  others  toil  at  the  grinding." 


*  Vult's  error,  that  Walt  is  in  love  with  Raphaela,  begins  here. 


188 


WAl.T  A\n   VI  IT, 


On  my  own  account,''  said  Walt,  "  I  gave  a 
lady  my  woi"d.  I  shall  keep  it.  And  I  thank  God, 
that  he  has  given  nie  an  opportunity  to  show  the 
confidence  one  should  cherish  in  man,  if  he  would 
not  lose  his  own  seit'- respect.  Should  it  even  hap- 
pen—  suribr  me  to  go  on,  ibr  I  could  not  speak  more 
truly  —  should  it  even  happen,  Üiat  I  am  deceived, 
and  my  faith  in  man  should  perish,  and  wounded 
love  bleed,  I  should  rejoice  that  /  only  had  received, 
and  not  given  the  wound.  I  am  decided  to  give  bail 
to  Fliti.  My  father's  anger  —  but  how. can  he,  in 
his  village,  understand  my  relations  here  .-  My 
mother's  scorn ;  imprisonment,  want — all  may  come  ! 
I  shall  keep  my  word.  You  are  angry.  It  is  well ! 
I  am  bail,  and  shall  go  down  !  *' 

Vult  kept  his  temper,  surprised  as  he  was,  and 
thrown  out  of  tl>e  saddle  by  Walt's  bolting  and  cur- 
vetting, who,  like  the  generous  steed,  became  the 
more  obstinate,  the  more  he  was  spurred  and  driven. 
"You  go!"  he  said,  "I  beseech  you  now,  with 
perfect  calmness,  reflect  upon  what  you  are  doing. 
Go  not,  like  a  bewildered  bird,  directly  into  the 
snare  !   Turn  back,  I  beseech  thee,  brother! " 

'"And  did  I  go  to  prison,  also,  I  must  keep  my 
word,"  he  said. 

"  There  you  will  become  gmy  ;  I  cannot  help  it," 
said  the  other;  "and  I  would  not  resist  it,  if  the 
clearest  reason  and  consent  supported  your  right  to 
do  so.  But,  that  those  villa'ms  should  triumph !  And 
in  the  end  it  will  be  known  that  we  are  related  ;  and 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


189 


I  shall  be  so  cursedly  laughed  at,  as  one  of  us  ! 
Friend  !  brother  !  listen  !  devil  !  "  But  he  went. 
*'  Oh,  thou  true  lefter  !  "  *  cried  the  flutist,  glowing 
with  anger :  "  yet  I  will  follow,  and  see  you  scatter 
the  winter  seed,  that  will  yield  a  splendid  summer 
harvest  of  thistle-heads  for  chaffinches  !  " 

As  they  entered  the  room  below  they  found  the 
betrothed  lovers  alone,  much  to  Vult's  displeasure, 
who  had  lengthened  his  business  above,  to  induce 
-delay,  that  the  travelling  clerk  might  have  come  and 
gone.  Walt's  face  glowed  with  excitement,  and  his 
voice  trembled,  while  he  cast  anxious  glances  at 
Vult,  as  though  entreating  him  not  to  be  rude.  But, 
contrary  to  all  his  expectations,  the  flute-player  had 
become  a  true  flute  ;  he  looked  on  with  easy  in- 
difierence,  and  spoke  in  a  refined  and  calm  voice. 
"  Ah  !  continue  to  paint,"  he  said  to  Flitt,  "  and 
upon  this  occasion,  each  can  sing  his  own  song,  upon 
his  own  penitential  text ;  some  of  us  possess  whole 
psalm-books  of  them.  I  have  myself,  in  this  very 
collection,  the  three  men  in  the  fiery  furnace,  all  on 
one  key,  which  I  could,  upon  this  occasion,  play  in 
the  most  expressive  manner,  if  it  would  serve  to 
divert  us. 

#  #  #  «  # 

At  this  moment.  Signer  Paridisi  opened  the  door. 
He  entered  cheerfully,  and  after  throwing  a  polite 
glance  towards  Walt,  thanked  Raphaela  very  ex- 


*  In  Elterlein,  a  subject  of  the  nobleman. 


190 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


pressively  for  her  letter  to  her  father.  He  immedi- 
ately took  the  security  offered  by  Walt.  Earely  had 
the  latter  been  more  happy,  and  at  the  same  time 
more  unhappy.  Vult's  parodies  and  cynical  re- 
marks, which  had  seemed  to  the  others  mere  absurd- 
ities, were  to  him  bitter  satires  ;  while  it  gave  him  a 
new  pleasure  to  be  the  succor  and  protecting  guar- 
dian to  the  others.  The  business  of  the  exchange 
was  coolly  and  completely  effected  before  Vult's 
eyes,  although  he  was  secretly  surprised,  and  angry 
at  the  ease  with  which  one  thing  succeeded  another. 
Powerful  men,  like  him,  are  not  easily  reconciled 
to  the  strength  of  others,  or  its  consequences  ;  be- 
cause, perhaps,  every  one  has  more  to  fear,  than  to 
hope  from  others. 

As  soon  as  the  business  was  completed,  the  flute- 
player  took  a  very  courteous  leave  from  the  com- 
pany, especially  from  Walt.  The  latter  did  not 
follow  him,  but  asked  Flitt  if  he  would  not  spend  the 
few  hours  that  remained  of  his  week  of  probation  in 
his  own  apartment.  Flitt  joyfully  assented.  Ra- 
phaela pressed,  gratefully,  her  own  soft  hand  into 
Walt's.  He  went  back  into  his  quiet  apartment. 
As  he  crossed  the  threshold,  he  felt  as  if  he  should 
burst  into  tears  ;  but  whether  of  joy,  or  sorrow,  or 
from  the  excitement  of  the  wine,  he  knew  not.  At 
length,  he  forgot  even  his  anger. 


No.  53.  Kreuzstein.  Stone  with  a  cross  upon  it. 


OR  THE  TWINS.  191 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

SORROWS   OF  YOUNG  WALT.      WINTER  QUARTERS. 

The  notary  for  one  long  night  could  neither  sleep, 
nor  love  his  brother  ;  but  anger  was  with  him  only  a 
dream,  and  the  reasons  for  not  quarrelling,  arising 
every  night  before  him,  warmed  him  in  such  mea- 
sure, that  if  Vult  had  ventured  to  visit  his  bed,  he 
had  been  capable  of  saying,  "  I  can  speak  with  thee 
now,  brother ;  but  seat  thyself,  not  upon  the  sharp 
frame  of  the  bed,  but  more  upon  my  pillow,"  He 
thought  the  faculty  of  inflicting  martyrdom,  even  upon 
such  men  as  Flitt  and  himself,  both  incomprehensi- 
ble and  unpardonable.  He  had  often  attempted,  when 
reflecting  upon  the  history  of  the  world,  to  place 
himself  in  imagination,  among  those  powerful  men 
of  granite  and  glacier  nature,  who  cheerfully  shine 
on,  and  prosper  in  the  midst  of  the  hatred  of  a  whole 
court  and  nation  ;  but  it  was  in  vain,  he  could  never 
succeed  in  such  characters.  It  would  have  been  as 
easy  for  him  to  have  given  himself  a  heart  of  mar- 
ble, by  swallowing  a  statue.  A  human  face  instantly 
touched  his  soul,  and  did  it  appear  on  the  chrysalis  of 
a  night  butterfly,  or  upon  a  child's  doll,  he  could  not 
have  coldly  injured  either. 


192 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


He  arose  from  his  bed,  and  looked  out  upon  the 
smoothly-shorn  harvest  day.  He  would,  as  he  was 
accustomed  to  do,  indulge,  and  not  repress  that  secret 
emotion,  love,  but  he  found  nothing  to  love.  He 
reflected  therefore  upon  his  causes  for  anger,  that 
he  might  place  himself  in  his  true  position.  A 
heart  that  is  full  of  love  can  forgive  all  severity 
towards  itself,  but  not  towards  another ;  to  pardon 
the  first  is  a  duty,  but  to  pardon  injustice  towards 
another,  is  to  partake  of  its  guilt. 

He  took,  therefore,  the  weary  path  to  the  council- 
house,  there,  as  hitherto,  to  receive  cheerfully  the 
penalty  for  his  sins  and  mistakes,  in  his  probation 
week  with  Flitt.  That  mocking-bird,  his  yesterday's 
bird  of  ill  omen,  for  he  possessed  nothing  upon  earth 
but  time,  was  already  there,  together  with  Pasvogel, 
the  bookseller.  Walt  looked  at  the  Alsatian  with  an 
eye  as  full  of  welcome,  as  if  the  latter  had  been  bound 
for  him.  Never  had  he  been  capable  of  throwing  a 
glance  of  purgatory  upon  the  innocent  instrument  that 
had  kindled  it  for  him  ;  he  preferred  rather  to  remain 
alone  there,  and  show  others  how  to  avoid  the  fire. 

Herr  Kuhnold  opened  the  secret  regulation  tariff 
upon  the  seventh  clause.  It  was,  in  fact,  therein 
ordered,  that  for  every  Germanized  French  word, 
that  Flitt  upon  oath  would  testify  the  heir  had  used 
during  his  week  of  probation,  the  possession  of  the 
inheritance  should  be  delayed  one  day.  Flitt  imme- 
diately answered,  "  that  he  knew  no  one  who  posess- 
ed  so  fine  an  organ  for  the  French  language,  or  so 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


193 


beautiful  a  caligraphy  for  writing  it,  as  Herr  Walt ; 
and  that  he  recollected  no  important  fault."  Walt 
endeavored  to  take  his  hand,  and  said,  "  How  delight- 
ful it  is  to  me  that  you  prove  yourself  such  as  I 
thought  you.  But  my  joy  is  more  disinterested  than 
it  appears." 

The  chief  executor  was  rejoiced  for  once  to  wish 
him  joy.  The  bookseller  also,  who  asked  him,  what 
would  be  his  next  choice  in  the  probation  ordained 
by  the  will  ? 

It  is  unfortunate  for  this  history,  that  the  world  does 
not  know  the  sixth  clause  of  the  will  by  heart ;  begin- 
ning, "  a  mere  johe  it  may  appear  to  the  heir^''''  for 
upon  this,  as  the  chief  pillar,  the  whole  structure 
stands.  Walt  knew  it  well,  and  the  bookseller  best 
of  all.  But  Walt,  in  that  soul  intoxication,  deriv- 
ed from  a  sense  of  rectitude  in  not  having  erred  in 
the  good  opinion  he  cherished  towards  Flitt,  could 
not  immediately  read  the  directions  of  the  will.  Pass- 
vogle  approached,  and  reminded  him  of  the  clause 
letter  C,  which  says,  he  shall  go  through  12  sheets, 
as  corrector  of  the  press.  "  Excellent,^''  cried  Walt, 
immediately  comprehending  and  agreeing  to  this. 
Upon  his  heart,  fretted  by  a  night  of  anger,  the 
smallest  expression  of  human  benevolence  fell  like  a 
healing  balsam. 

As  soon  as  Walt  quitted  the  council-room,  he  found 
his  affections  turned  again  towards  his  brother.  Flitt 
was  justified  ;  he  was  himself  excused,  and  in  the 

VOL.  II.  13 


194 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


degree  that  he  found  himself  right,  he  pardoned,  in 
tlie  mass,  all  others.  After  he  had  written  hastily  to 
his  anxious  father,  the  favorable  result  of  his  week's 
trial  with  Flitt,  he  began,  according  to  iiis  old  cus- 
tom, to  place  himself  seriously  in  the  situation  of 
another,  and  asked  himself,  can  then  Vult  shape 
his  actions  upon  any  other  jn'inciple  than  his  own, 
and  can  he  act  ditferently  towards  me,  than  I,  if  I 
were  himself,  should  act  towards  him  ?  Every  one 
desires  justice  from  others,  and  afier  that,  a  little 
added  favor.  Ah  well,  he  perhaps  would  give  both 
to  others  —  that  also  will  I  do."  He  found  in  Vult's 
resolute  firmness,  the  opposite  of  his  own  yielding  dis- 
position. But  friendships  and  marriages  are  formed, 
like  the  telescope,  by  the  nice  adaptation  of  convex 
and  concave  glasses. 

But  of  what  use  was  his  now  open  heart No 
one  came  into  it.  He  waited  in  love  s  timidity,  hop- 
ing Vult  would  allow,  if  no  more,  a  quarter  of  an  ell 
of  the  white  flag  of  peace  to  flutter,  that  he  might 
draw  it,  with  love's  ej-es,  towards  himself.  Not  a 
finger's  breadth  did  the  other  display,  but  sent  him 
extracts  for  the  double  romance,  without  adding  a 
word  to  them.  AValt  also  sent  him  many  chapters, 
that  he  had  written  while  his  heart  was  cloister- 
ed, for  Passvogle  delayed  sending  the  proof-sheet 
to  be  corrected,  and  the  city  withheld  the  notary 
business,  that  might  have  disturbed,  but  also  enriched 
him.  One  day,  soon  after,  Vult  sent  him  the  most 
elaborate  digression,  and  mentioned  cursorily  the 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


195 


enjoyment  he  had  derived  from  writing  it,  and  the 
true  artistic  warmth  with  which  every  chapter  had 
been  created  —  but  —  nothing  more.  "Now,"  said 
Walt  to  himself,  "  I  know  very  well  how  I  stand. 
I  am,  indeed,  very  unfortunate.  The  heaven  that 
opened  for  me,  is  indeed  past.  My  brother  is  to 
me  forever  dead  and  buried." — He  wrote  a  long 
chapter,  and  sent  it  with  the  following  faithfully 

transcribed  letter  —  "  Brother  !  within  

Thy  Brother  G." 

Vult  made  no  answer,  and  Walt,  for  a  quarter  of 
an  hour,  was  angry. 

Soon  after,  in  a  cold  November  afternoon,  he 
walked  to  the  Wirthshaus  with  the  sign  of  the  Wirths- 
haus,  where,  it  is  well  known,  like  meeting  a  genial 
May  after  a  life-long  winter,  he  had  first  found  his 
brother.  As  he  entered,  the  Hernhutt  host  was  beat- 
ing his  wife  out  of  the  house ;  and  throwing  his 
children  after  her,  he  cried,  that  if  he  were  not  a 
Christian,  he  should  treat  her  very  differently,  but  as 
he  was  one,  he  restrained  himself,  and  no  injurious 
word  should  pass  his  lips. 

Walt  flew  to  the  Hernhutt  burying-ground,  where 
he  had  been  so  happy,  at  the  moment,  when  to  him 
the  sun  went  down,  and  the  brother  arose.  The 
rees,  instead  of  scattering  their  leaves  to  clothe  the 
buried  skeletons,  stretched  out  their  own  naked  arms 
above  them ;  rain  and  snow  were  mingled ;  the 
clouds  rather  than  the  sun  descended  towards  the 
west,  and  the  evening  and  night  were  hardly  dis- 
tinguishable from  each  other. 


196 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


From  thence,  he  bore  himself  on  the  same  path, 
but  with  what  different  feelings,  than  on  the  splendid 
morning  when  he  followed  on  foot  to  the  city  the 
horse  ridden  by  his  father.  As  he  passed  over  the 
bridge,  and  was  environed  only  by  the  water  and  the 
dark  night,  two  heavy  clouds  parted  from  each  other, 
and  the  clear  moon  appeared  to  lie  like  a  silver  ball 
in  the  bosom  of  a  cloudy  mountain,  and  a  long  path 
of  light  descended  to  him. 

Walt  went  on,  still  anxious  for  his  brother,  towards 
the  street  where  he  dwelt,  drawn  by  the  echoing  of 
his  flute,  whose  waves  of  harmony  flooded  all  the 
open,  rough  precipices  of  his  actual  world.  The 
melancholy  November  evening,  the  brutal  Moravian 
host,  the  empty  ebb  of  life,  sank  beneath  the  splen- 
did billows  of  sound.  As  it  was  now  quite  dark,  (in 
the  day-time  he  would  not  have  ventured  down  the 
long  street,)  Walt  approached,  concealed  by  the  sha- 
dow of  the  moon,  close  to  Vult's  lodgings,  and  as  he 
pressed  his  hand  upon  the  knocker,  he  thought  how 
often  the  brother's  hand  must  have  been  there. 

As  he  stood  in  the  shadow,  with  the  light  reflected 
opposite,  he  observed  that  Vult  must  be  by  the  music- 
desk  that  stood  near  the  window.  The  deep  shadow 
of  a  cloud  passed  over  the  street,  he  stepped  across 
to  the  other  side,  and  looked  up.  Behind  the  lighted 
desk,  he  saw  the  so  long  desired  countenance,  and 
wept  bitterly.  He  would  now  have  gone  gladly  up 
to  him,  with  the  brother's  old,  open  heart ;  but  he 
said,  "  No  —  I  know  his  music  as  well  as  though  I 


OR  THE  TWINS, 


197 


myself  were  the  performer.  No,  his  heart  is  not  yet 
mine  —  he  is  always  the  reverse  of  his  music,  and 
often  the  most  severe  when  he  plays  the  most  ten- 
derly. I  will  not  disturb  him  in  his  spirit's  dream, 
but  rather  put  my  own  upon  paper,  and  send  them  to 
him  in  the  morning." 

He  went  to  his  home.  The  flute  tones  of  his 
brother  fell  beautifully  in  unison  with  his  own  excited 
feelings  ;  and  he  allayed  the  mental  storm,  by  the 
creation  of  two  short  poems,  like  those  pillars  of  sta- 
lactites, which,  as  is  well  known,  are  formed  by  the 
continual  falling  of  liquid  drops. 

STRECKVERSE. 

"  The  dew-drops  sink  softly  in  the  hollow  moun- 
tain, but  are  petrified  into  hard  and  sharp  angles. 
More  beautiful  is  the  human  tear.  It  penetrates  and 
wounds  the  eye,  but  the  wept  diamond  is  liquid,  and 
when  the  eye  seeks  it,  behold,  it  is  like  the  dew  in 
the  cup  of  the  flower." 

SECOND. 

*'  Look  into  the  deep  grotto,  where  little  silent 
tears  have  created  the  pillars  of  the  earth,  and  the 
splendor  of  heaven  now  plays  upon  them.  Thy 
tears  and  griefs,  oh,  man !  will  soon  shine  as  stars, 
and  bear  thee  up  like  the  pillars  of  this  temple." 

At  receiving  them,  Vult  answered  ;  — "  The  rest 
verbally,  dearest !  Thou  knowest,  better  than  I,  how 


198 


WALT  AIvD  VULT, 


much  our  so  diligently-advancing  work  rejoices 
me  ! " 

"  The  devil  take  him,"  said  Walt,  "  our  quarrel 
has  cost  me  more  repentance  than  himself  —  for  I, 
alas,  love  so  differently ! "  He  now  felt  all  the 
misery  that  unrequited  love  upon  this  earth  can  inflict. 
Wholly  deprived  of  society  or  business,  he  continued 
to  weave  his  romance  as  the  only  thin  light  cord  that 
could  connect  his  own  apartment  with  that  of  his 
brother. 

At  last,  upon  an  evening  when  the  full,  perfect 
moon  shone  clear  and  soothing,  he  thought  whether 
it  would  not  be  suitable  to  take  a  formal  leave  of  his 
brother.    He  wrote  the  following  note  :  — 

"  Take  it  not  ill,  if  about  seven  o'clock  this  even- 
ing I  come  to  thee  !  Indeed  I  will  only  take  leave  ; 
every  thing  upon  this  earth  parts  violently,  without 
leave  taking  ;  but  man  should  say  adieu  to  man,  if 
no  storm,  no  earthquake,  suddenly  parted  those  near- 
est in  soul  !  Be  as  I  am,  Vult !  I  will  see  thee  only 
once,  and  then  not  again.  Answer  not,  as  I  fear 
myself." 

He  received  no  answer,  and  became  yet  more 
fearful  and  melancholy.  In  the  evening  he  went  to 
his  brother,  but  felt,  as  he  entered,  as  though  the 
parting  had  already  taken  place.  There  was  no 
light  in  Vult's  chamber.  ^Vhat  a  burthen  did  he 
bear  over  the  steps,  to  redouble,  not  to  lie  it  down 
above  them  !  No  one  said  "  come  in."  The  cham- 
ber was  empty  ;  the  door  stood  open.    Upon  a  lantern 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


199 


a  glimmering  light,  was  nearly  extinguished.  The 
bed-alcove,  like  the  manger  of  a  stable,  concealed 
only  refuse  ;  where  straw,  scattered  papers,  shavings, 
broken  letter-envelopes,  fragments  of  flute-arias,  were 
the  sediment  of  past  days;  it  was  the  relic,  or  char- 
nel-house of  a  living  man. 

In  the  first  madness  of  his  fright,  Walt  imagined 
that,  if  not  already  there,  Vult  would  soon  be  be- 
neath the  waves  ;  and,  half  unconsciously,  with  large 
tears  dropping  from  his  eyes,  he  was  gathering  to- 
gether the  paper  relics,  when  he  heard  the  coarse 
voice  of  the  wife  of  the  theatre-tailor  crying  out, 
"  who  was  above  there  ?  "  "  Harnish,"  he  answered. 
She  ascended  the  stairs,  scolding,  that  it  was  not  the 
voice  of  Harnish.  As  she  found  Walt  in  total  dark- 
ness, having  extinguished  the  expiring  light,  pre- 
ferring darkness,  as  one  prefers  death  to  dying,  he 
involved  himself  in  an  unfortunate  strife  of  words 
with  the  lady ;  first,  upon  his  intention  to  steal  ;  and 
secondly,  upon  his  falsehood  in  calling  himself  Har- 
nish. He  had  in  his  haste  said  that  Vult  was  his 
brother ;  *  and  yet  asked  when,  and  from  whence 
Vult  had  returned. 

Confused,  he  returned  to  his  own  apartment.  As 
he  ascended  the  stairs,  he  found  the  house  illumi- 
nated, and  full  of  people.  The  court-agent  gave 
this  evening  a  dancing  tea-party.     He  found  his 


*  Vult,  as  will  he  recollectedj  had  been  very  careful  to  conceal 
their  relation sliip. 


200 


WALT  AND  VüLT, 


chamber  open,  and  a  man  with  a  hammer,  at  work, 
to  improve  and  new  furnish  his  dweüing-place.  It 
was  Vult ! 

Most  welcome  !  "  said  Vult,  and  continued  to 
nail  upon  a  theatre  curtain.  "  But,  good  evening  ! 
most  wished  for !  I  was  thinking,  will  no  one  come  ? 
just  as  you,  at  last,  entered.  Since  it  struck  seven, 
have  I  been  vexing  myself  to  have  everything  ac- 
complished and  arranged  in  the  best  manner,  that 
neither  of  us  may  grumble  nor  fret  afterwards.  Will 
you  but  support  and  help  me  with  the  common  fur- 
niture ?    But  how  you  look  at  me,  Walt !  " 

"  Vult !  how  ?  speak  only !  "  cried  Walt.  "  There 
may  then,  at  last,  be  something  delightful !  Wel- 
come !  welcome  !  with  my  whole  heart,  welcome  !  " 
and  he  ran  to  embrace  and  kiss  him.  Vult,  with 
the  nail  in  one  hand,  and  the  hammer  in  the  other, 
could  only  present  his  face,  and  answered,  "  The 
principal  thing  now  is,  that  you  should  listen  to  a 
reasonable  word  upon  the  subject ;  as  the  thing  in 
hand  is  for  our  mutual  pleasure,  and  we  shall  be  un- 
willing to  change,  when  once  everything  is  nailed 
fast.  It  seems  to  me  right,  that  you  should  take 
the  possession  and  whole  government  of  one  window, 
and  I,  of  the  other ;  a  third  is  wanting." 

"  I  know  not,  indeed,  what  are  your  intentions ; 
but  do  what  you  please,  and  then  tell  me,"  said 
Walt.  "We  do  not  understand  each  other.  Have 
you,  then,  received  no  letter  from  me  "  asked  Vult. 
"  No,"  said  the  other.    "  I  mean  that  of  this  morn- 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


201 


ing,"  he  continued,  "  in  which  I  said  I  would  take 
your  silence  as  an  assent  to  my  prayer,  that  we,  like 
a  pair  of  birds,  might  dwell  together  in  one  nest  ; 
or  quartered  together  in  one  apartment,  even  this. 
How  ?  "  "  Nothing,"  said  Walt.  "  But  you  do, 
indeed,  desire  this  ?  Oh  !  why,  then,  did  I  confide 
so  Httle  in  your  goodness  ?  God  punish  me  for  it ! 
Oh  !  art  thou,  indeed,  thus  ?  " 

"  In  that  case,  I  must  still  have  the  letter  in  my 
pocket,"  said  Vult,  and  drew  it  out.  "  My  especial 
wish  is,"  he  continued,  "  that  this  wall  of  fire  should 
blaze  between  us,  and  the  scenery  of  the  stage  divide 
our  bodies  so  happily,  that  our  spirits  may  remain 
united.  The  partition-wall,  upon  your  side,  is  painted 
with  a  beautiful  series  of  palaces.  Upon  mine,  is  an 
Arcadian  village  ;  and  I  have  only  to  throw  up  this 
palace-window,  from  my  own  writing-table,  to  see 
thee  at  thine.  We  can  converse  with  each  other 
through  the  wall  and  the  city." 

"  That  will  be  heavenly  !  "  said  Walt. 

"  We  can  work  day  and  night  in  our  double 
cage,  upon  our  double  romance ;  for  winter  is  the 
best  time  to  brood,  both  for  authors  and  crossbills  ; 
and  we,  like  the  black  hellebore,  (for  what  are 
authors  but  hellebore  for  the  world  ?)  can  bloom 
best  in  the  frost." 

"  Oh,  splendid  !  "  said  Walt. 

"  For  I  must,  alas,  acknowledge,  that  hitherto,  in 
consequence  of  one  extravagance  or  another,  or 
from  levity  itself,  I  have  prepared  little,  and  accom- 


202 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


plished  less  ;  but  we  will  both  write  and  compose, 
that  we  may  smoke  ;  we  will  live  only  for  books  and 
manuscripts,  namely,  for  the  copy-money  we  shall 
get.  In  fourteen  days,  my  good  friend,  a  very  pretty 
piece  of  work  may  be  finished,  and  sent  from  the 
stocks  to  an  editor." 

"Oh,  delightful!"  said  Walt. 

"  If  such  a  brooding  together  in  one  nest,  I,  as  a 
dove,  tliou,  as  a  dovess,  does  not  n  the  end  produce 
a  phoenix,  or  some  other  winged  work,  that  will  be 
so  precious  in  the  eyes  of  posterity,  that  they  will 
ask  of  their  ancestors,  '  Who  v/ere  these  brothers  ? 
how  did  they  live  ?  what  was  their  height  and 
breadth  ?  how  did  they  eat  ?  how  sneeze  ?  what 
were  their  manners,  their  furniture,  and  their  fol- 
lies ?  '  —  if,  I  say,  this  does  not  happen — why,  then, 
I  have  been  joking." 

"  Ach  Gott !  "  cried  Walt,  in  ecstasy. 

"  I  will  devour  my  own  tongue  with  hunger," 
Vult  continued,  "if  we  do  not  live  together  a  long 
time  before  we  quarrel,  especially  if  certain  things 
do  not  happen,  of  which  more  by  and  by." 

"By  heaven!  you  give  me  new  life  and  hope," 
said  Walt. 

"  Will  it  please  you,"  said  the  other,  and  led  him 
into  the  sleeping-room,  "  that  our  beds  are  obliquely 
divided  by  this  Spanish  wall  (Spanish  castles  are  for 
dreams),  I  should  see  you  in  bed,  but  for  this  old 
bed-screen." 

"  You  know  my  feelings  on  that  subject,"  he  an- 
swered. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


203 


Vult  now  sketched  the  difficult  steps  by  which  he 
had  effected  his  entrance,  and  went  on  to  the  chart 
for  their  future  life.  He  had  long,  he  said,  partly 
from  love  to  him  and  their  romance,  partly  to  divide 
the  rent,  and  partly  from  other  causes,  wished  to 
come  to  him.  Lately,  in  a  promenade  with  Rapha- 
ela, he  had  won  back  her  good  opinion ;  and  with 
that,  as  with  a  long-armed  lover,  he  had  moved  her 
father.  He  had  been  there  an  hour  with  Purzel's 
old  scenery,  and  had  found  the  key  in  the  well- 
known  mouse-hole.  "  Now,"  he  concluded,  "  it 
remains  but  to  break  the  seal  of  my  own  letter." 
Upon  the  envelope  was  written,  "  To  Herr  Walt,  de- 
livered by  myself" 

Walt  did  not  remark,  that  his  own  seal  was  placed 
near  Vult's,  and  that  it  was  the  old  letter,  in  which 
he  had  forewarned  him  of  his  sullen  spirit  and  his 
jealousy,  that  he  might  afterwards  be  excused.  This 
letter  the  reader  has  read  earlier  than  Walt.*  He 
put  it  hastily  aside,  thinking  Vult  was  preparing  him 
for  some  future  quarrel ;  but  when  he  showed  him 
the  date,  and  that  it  referred  to  the  past,  Walt  seized 
both  his  hands,  and,  looking  in  his  eyes,  exclaimed, 
in  a  tone  of  emotion,  "  Vult  !  Vult  !  "  The  flute- 
player  had  some  drops  in  his  own  eyes,  which  with 
his  imprisoned  hands  he  could  not  dispense.  "  I  am 
no^m^,"  he  said,  "  let  me  go  to  my  own  chamber; " 
and  he  fled  behind  the  stage-scene. 


*  See  Vol.  I.,  pp.  17S  -  133. 


AVALT  AND  VüLT, 


A\  alt  went  backwards  and  ibrwards  in  his  own 
part,  and  related  his  own  {)ast  exertions  to  rekuit  the 
baptismal-bond  of  their  souls.  Then  he  passed  llie 
dividing-wall,  and  iielped  Vnlt  to  put  his  housekeep- 
ing in  order.  He  was  so  helptul,  so  active,  he  would 
give  his  brother  so  nuich  more  than  his  share  of 
window-light  and  I'urniture,  that  Vult  secretly  scolded 
himself  for  a  fool,  in  the  late  business  of  the  ex- 
change lor  Flitt,  for  so  uselessly  and  severely  press- 
ing his  selfish  opposition.  AValt,  on  Iiis  side,  had 
placed  the  llute-player  in  the  focus  of  a  shining  light. 
That  on  his  account  he  should  overcome  his  aver- 
sion to  Kaphaela,  was  an  excess  of  merit  that  he 
could  scarcely  understand.  He  determined,  there- 
fore, to  learn  all  Vult's  merits  by  heart,  that  he 
might  always  recur  to  them  when  inclined  to  grum- 
ble. The  mutual  housekeeping,  or  room-fraternity, 
was  established  within  the  strictest  limits,  so  that  in 
the  morning  each  might  begin  to  live  in  his  own 
peculiar  way.  Vult  remarked,  that  they  must  give 
ill-humor  and  anger  ample  room  within,  to  be  hunted 
and  run  dead  against  the  inner  walls  of  brain  and 
heart ;  for  it  was  easy,  if  the  wolf  in  the  heart  was 
killed,  to  be  outwardly  like  lambs. 

Another  remark  might  here  be  made.  The  strong- 
est love  will  feel,  and  then  forgive,  the  greatest  faults 
against  itself ;  while  the  repetition  of  many  little 
otfences  against  friendship  wound  and  fret  deeply  ; 
so  that  we  often  owe  to  them  a  disposition  averse  to 
all  mankind,  that  upon  trying  occasions  makes  itself 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


205 


the  mirror  where  all  is  reflccteci.  The  highest  love 
knows  no  middle  point.  It  is  only  yes^  or  no  !  It 
can  dwell  in  no  purgatory.  It  makes  a  heaven  or 
hell.  And  it  has  this  misfortune,  that  the  feelings 
and  dispositions  to  which  it  gives  birth,  are  in  them- 
selves purgatory,  tlie  portresses  of  heaven  or  hell. 

As  Vult,  behind  the  screen,  stepped  into  his  bed, 
he  said,  "  Do  not  answer  me  upon  this  subject,  but  I 
do  believe,  that,  in  future,  T  shall  know  how  to  love 
you  better."    "  No  !  I  you,"  cried  Walt. 

*  *  *  *  * 


No.  54.   A  woodpecker. 


206 


WALT  AND  VÜLT, 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

DOUBLE  LIFE. 

"  Heaven  consists  probably  in  first  days,  hell 
perhaps,  also,  so  much  does  this  miserable  nest  exalt 
my  spirits,*'  said  Vult,  the  next  morning,  at  breakfast. 
Each  returned  afterwards  to  his  dwelling,  and  to  his 
work.  Vult  wrote  a  little  in  his  journal,  and  then 
cut  out  two  useful  extracts  for  the  double  romance. 
Then  he  looked  from  the  window  and  spoke  to  the 
friendly  Raphaela,  who,  at  the  orders  of  her  father, 
stood  guardian  over  the  statues,  that,  like  chests  of 
oranges,  were  borne  to  their  winter  quarters.  When 
he  found  that  Walt  could  hear  him  from  his  window, 
he  snowed  down  upon  her  some  little  frozen  ice- 
flowers,  in  allusion  to  love,  hoping  that  Walt's  and 
Raphaela's  mutual  warmth  Avould  convert  them  into 
beautiful  variegated  dew-drops.*  With  a  joy  that 
was  without  jealousy,  she  gave  him  hopes,  in  answer 
to  his  question,  as  to  when  the  general  and  his  daugh- 


*  On  account  of  Walt's  zeal  in  assisting  Flitt,  at  the  prayer  of 
Raphaela,  Vult  had  become  possessed  with  the  idea,  that  he  had 
acted  only  from  his  love  to  this  lady.  This  conviction  rendered 
him  blind  to  Walt's  passion  for  Wina. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


207 


ter  would  return,  of  a  very  speedy  meeting  with 
them. 

The  brothers  had  scarcely  begun  again  to  write, 
when  Vulf  murmured,  but  so  that  Walt  could  hear 
him,  "  I  know  not  why  I  should  not  take  a  walk,  and 
visit  my  solitary  brother.  The  way  from  here  to 
him  is  as  firm  and  plain  as  a  turnpike."  Then  he 
opened  the  little  window  in  the  painted  stage  curtain, 
and  cried,  I  should  have  great  pleasure  in  visiting 
thee,  if  thou  art  alone."  "  Ah,  thou  villain  ! "  He 
then  travelled  as  with  difficulty  and  half  steps  around 
the  wall,  and  with  outstretched  arm^  paid,  "the 
snow-storm  without  would  fain  have  frightened  me 
from  seeking  thee  in  thy  solitude,  but  perhaps  I  can 
change  it  into  a  double  or  laughing  hermitage." 

"  Brother  !  "  said  Walt,  rising  from  his  writing- 
table,  "  could  I  do  justice  to  the  comic,  or  dared  to 
sketch  the  character  of  a  friend  in  outline,  1  would 
draw  every  stroke  of  the  pencil  from  you  !  But  I 
hold  it  not  delicate  to  lay  the  heart  of  a  beloved  friend, 
as  a  spectacle,  bare,  before  the  poetical  market.  But 
—  am  I  too  warm  when  I  write  ?  "  "  No,"  answer- 
ed Vult,  "  not  for  the  truth  —  but  I  must  return  to 
my  own  house,  there  to  utter  my  jokes  for  the  amuse- 
ment of  the  world,  and  of  posterity.  Is  it  accident, 
that  even  in  this  room  you  are  again  a  Lefter,  while 
I  am  in  the  right  ?  "  * 


*  As  in  the  village  of  Elterlein,  the  subjects  of  the  prince  were 
on  the  right  side  of  the  brook,  and  the  subjects  of  the  noblemaa 
were  called  Lcfters, 


208 


WALT  AND  VüLT, 


Walt  considered  it  his  duty,  soon  after,  to  return  his 
brother's  visit,  to  relieve  his  imprisonment  in  so  small 
a  space.  He  reminded  him  how  many  accidental 
events  had,  as  it  were,  united  for  their  happiness. 
That  to-day  was  the  first  fall  of  snow,  that  was 
always  to  him  something  secret  and  domestic,  re- 
minding him  of  his  childhood,  like  a  May-flower  in 
the  midst  of  winter ;  and  that  to-day  he  had  first 
heard  the  thresher,  that  voice  and  music-waltzer  of 
winter.  "  You  mean  the  flail,"  said  Vult,  "  only  it 
disturbs  the  harmony  of  my  flute."  "  As  it  comes 
only  at  intervals,  and  is  indeed,  so  simple  a  verse, 
the  time  being  beaten  by  three  flails,  it  has  some- 
thing charming  for  my  ear. 

"  In  the  winter,  my  Gunter, 
Thus  thresh  they  the  field  ; 

When  cold  'tis  —  not  old  'tis, 
All  freshly  congealed." 

"  It  may  be,  that  the  verses  are  excellent  of  their 
kind,"  said  Vult,  "  and  who  can  tell  from  whence 
they  have  come  ?  " 

In  the  evening,  towards  four  o'clock,  Walt  heard 
Vult  say  to  Flora,  "  Before  you  make  our  beds, 
beautiful  child,  go  to  Herr  Notary,  my  neighbor,  and 
tell  him  I  invite  him  this  evening  to  tea,  to  a  The  mar- 
chanty  and  bring  a  light  to  me  only,  as  he  will  need 
none." 

It  was  the  first  time  in  his  life  that  Walt  had  taken 
tea  for  other  than  medicinal  purposes.    Vult  gave 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


209 


with  it  wine,  that  he  never  forgot  to  take  upon  credit. 
"  If  the  ancients,"  he  said,  "  watered  their  acorns 
with  wine,  how  much  more  should  we  our  laurels." 
Then  followed  a  discussion,  as  to  how  far  men  should 
follow  out  their  natural  characters.  Vult  said,  "  I 
speak  with  infinite  ease,  hefore  I  attempt  to  put  the 
conversation  on  paper.  A  thousand  things  come  to 
one's  mind,  when  we  argue  or  dispute,  therefore,  in 
academies,  disputing  is  dignified,  and  permitted  to 
be  called  teaching ;  while  in  courts,  the  same  thing  is 
called  flattery." 

Walt  observed,  "  that  thus  familiar  letters,  which 
were  the  echo  of  conversation,  became  so  valuable" 
—  "  and,"  said  Vult,  "  to  philosophy,  a  second  human 
face  is  far  more  helpful  than  a  bare  wall,  or  a  sheet 
of  paper."  "  Yes,  you  are  right,"  responded  Walt, 
"  but  it  is  not  so  favorable  to  poetical  inspiration,  as 
to  philosophy  ;  conversation  is  necessary  to  you,  si- 
lence to  me."  "  Winter  is  the  harvest-time  of  letters ; 
the  snow-balls  are  frozen  to  printer's  ink-balls,"  said 
Vult.  "  But,  on  the  contrary,  how  a  man  journeys 
and  flies  in  the  summer  !  Now,  were  description 
easy  !  The  Easter  fair,*  however,  is  the  best  proof." 
"  The  winter,"  said  Walt,  "  is  as  if  a  man  were 
environed  and  enclosed  in  mountains  of  clouds,  with- 
out a  heaven  or  earth  —  so  completely  alone  —  no 
sound  of  bird  —  no  color  in  nature  !    I  would  say, 


*  The  great  Easter  book-fair  in  Leipsic. 
VOL,  11.  14 


210 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


that  in  the  absence  of  all  outward  objects,  one  must 
create  from  the  inward  soul  —  "  "  Drink  only  this 
cup,  Walt!  —  Oh,  very  true — although  to-day  we 
have  not  written  much,  I,  indeed,  nothing." 

Both  now  deplored  that  their  delightful  community 
of  goods  must  be  somewhat  disturbed  through  the 
total  want  of  goods.  Of  gold,  what  they  had  in 
hand  was  reduced  to  the  gold  upon  the  ring-finger. 
Vult  could  not  help  them  with  the  instrument  that  he 
blew,  nor  Walt  with  the  instruments  that  he  was 
rarely  called  upon  to  make.  They  must  appeal  to 
charity,  and  each  be  the  almoner  of  the  other,  or 
take  some  more  decided  step.  Yes,  to-day,  upon 
this  very  spot,  with  a  magician's  wand,  must  a  master- 
stroke of  irreparable  consequences  be  made.  It  was 
done  !  They  sent  the  first  chapter,  and  first  digres- 
sion of  their  Romance,  The  Hearty  to  an  editor,  the 
Magister*  Dyk,  in  Leipsic.  A  work  may  thus 
remain  with  its  conclusion  growing  in  the  snail-shell 
of  the  writing-desk,  while  it  creeps  with  its  feeling- 
horns  upon  the  post-road.  They  had  the  highest 
hopes  of  a  favorable  reception  from  the  Magister, 
for  a  bookseller,  who  was  himself  a  learned  man, 
would  have  a  more  instructed  taste  for  manuscript 
works,  than  one  who  must  depend  on  the  judgment 
of  another  learned  man. 

In  the  letter  sent  with  it,  written  according  to  Vult's 
worldly-wise  advice,  Walt  must  place  himself  in 


*  A  person  who  has  taken  the  first  degree  only  at  a  University. 
The  title  is  now  obsolete. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


211 


a  proud  position,  and  demand  all  the  privileges  of  an 
editor,  "  If  Milton,"  said  Vult,  "  received  only- 
twelve  guineas  *  for  his  Paradise  Lost,  we  will  show 
them  in  Leipsic,  how  little  we  compare  ourselves 
with  him,  and  demand  eight-and-forty."  Walt  was 
completely  astonished,  that  an  author,  and  particular- 
ly himself,  could  prescribe  to  the  editor,  the  paper, 
type,  form,  and  even  the  number  of  copies,  namely 
3000,  which  he  would  permit  to  be  printed.  Vult 
himself  bore  the  manuscript  to  the  Saxon  post,  to 
see,  as  he  said,  once  more,  a  little  of  the  world. 

The  day  after,  both  worked  most  zealously.  A 
young  author  believes  that  all  he  has  sent  to  the  editor 
is  already  printed,  and  writes  on  with  a  new  spur  to 
his  industry.  No  visits,  no  festivals,  no  individuals, 
no  letters  disturbed  them.  Vult  had  no  money,  and 
Walt  was  born  to  sit  still.  Poets,  like  the  people  of 
Africa,  cultivate  their  bread-fields  under  music,  and 
measured  sounds.  How  often  Walt,  in  his  excess  of 
happiness,  rose  from  his  seat,  pen  in  hand,  (while 
Vult  looked  at  him  over  the  Spanish  wall,)  paced 
the  apartment  and  looked  out  of  the  window,  but  saw 
nothing,  and  then  returning  to  his  seat,  he  could  hard- 
ly bring  the  sweet  tumult  in  his  breast  to  flow  calmly 
upon  the  paper.  Then  he  would  say,  in  the  midst  of 
his  rapture  ;  "  continue  to  blow  the  flute,  Vult,  you  do 
not  disturb  me,  but  give  a  general  glow  to  all  that  I 
write." 


*  This  is  a  mistake  of  Vult's,  he  received  but  five  pounds. 


212 


WALT  AND  VÜLT, 


At  dinner,  sometimes  in  Walt's,  sometimes  in 
Vult's  apartment,  the  time  of  which  they  lengthened 
to  the  utmost ;  this  dinner  consisted  of  one  portion 
for  two  persons,  as  no  host  would  guarantee  a  second. 
It  gave  a  purer  motive  to  their  dining  together, 
that  a  higher  taste  than  that  of  appetite  was  consult- 
ed, and  that  more  sentiments  than  morsels  went  over 
their  tongues.  They  amused  themselves  with  calcu- 
lating the  very  moment  when  their  manuscript  would 
reach  the  Magister  Dyk  ;  how  it  would  animate  him, 
and  indeed  shake  him  out  of  all  propriety  ;  and  then 
how  far  the  printing  had  proceeded,  and  if  it  did  not 
go  on  so  fast  that  their  writing  could  scarcely  keep  up 
with  it.  Vult  remarked  that  if  a  romance-writer 
knew  certainly  that  he  should  die,  he  would  rarely 
venture  upon  splendid  unfoldings,  of  which  he  did 
not  himself  see  the  solution  ;  if  he  left  his  work  un- 
finished, every  one  would  bring  out  the  probable 
development  in  a  different  manner.  "  Do  you  then 
certainly  know,  Walt,  that  you  will  live  to  finish  this 
romance  ?  Otherwise,  there  is  much  to  do !  I  look 
round  our  apartment,  and  think  how  it  would  be, 
should  we  both,  under  these  triumphal  arches  of 
glory,  write  ourselves  into  the  Pantheon  of  Immor- 
tality !  How  our  nest  would  be  sought  and  visited. 
Every  scrap  that  you  had  scratched  upon  the  wall, 
as  it  was  from  Rousseau's  Island,  would  be  copied  and 
printed.  The  city  itself  would  probably  receive  a  new 
name  ;  in  imitation  of  Ovidiopolis^  they  would  call  it 
Harnishopolis.    But  it  would  embitter  all  personal 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


213 


immortality  to  me,  that  my  name  is  not  long  enough 
to  last  long.*  Oh,  if  one  could  know  at  his  baptism, 
that  he  should  make  himself  a  great  name,  he  would 
give  himself  one  that  would  be  gladly  quoted  by  the 
learned,  because  it  would  fill  a  line  for  the  type- 
setter, and  a  line  for  the  purchaser.  Apropos,  why 
does  not  the  seven-heired  Pasvogel  send  you  the  first 
proof-sheet,  in  order  to  fulfil  the  conditions  of  the 
will  ?  "  "  The  author  improves  yet  in  his  hand- 
writing, he  told  me  yesterday,"  said  Walt. 

Afterwards,  they  both  snuffed  the  air.  It  is  aston- 
ishing how  many  traits  of  the  higher  ranks  Walt 
caught  for  his  romance,  in  passing  through  the 
streets.  The  manner  in  which  a  court  cavalier 
sprang  from  his  carriage,  or  a  countess  looked  out 
of  the  window,  could  be  romantically  described  ; 
and  one  could  stand  or  fall  for  a  whole  class  !  It 
was  wonderful,  that  with  these  colored  grains  of 
sand,  the  peasant's  son  could  build  a  romance,  in 
which  it  was  easy  to  study  the  character  and  habits 
of  the  highest  ranks.  For  this  purpose,  he  always 
went  to  the  court-chapel,  and  kept  his  eyes  open. 

They  went  back  to  their  separate  rooms,  and 
worked  as  long  as  the  light  lasted.  They  lengthened 
out  the  twilight,  partly  to  spare  candles,  as  well  as 
to  indulge  the  flute,  and  interminable  conversation. 
When  Vult  drew  exquisite  tones  from  the  flute,  Walt 
sat  in  the  darkness,  looking  into  the  blue,  starred 


*  Long-  refers  to  space,  as  well  as  to  time. 


214 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


firmament,  and  thought  of  that  morning  at  Rosenhof, 
behind  the  waterfall  ;  of  Wina's  noble  heart ;  and  of 
her  speedy  return,  which  would  convert  his  sterile 
life  into  a  paradise.  He  would  not  disturb  the  flute, 
to  tell  his  brother  how  the  minutes,  clothed  in  bridal 
dresses,  and  linked  together  with  chains  of  roses, 
danced  about  him  ;  but  when  the  flute  ceased,  he 
looked  searchingly  at  Vult,  and  asked,  "  Are  you, 
then,  satisfied,  brother,  with  this  narrow  strip  of  life  ; 
and  with  the .  orchestra  tones,  and  the  imaginary 
enchanting  forms,  that  we,  perhaps,  have  to-day  as 
inwardly  enjoyed  as  others  have  in  any  splendid 
court  ?  "  "  Our  life  is,  indeed,  a  true  chart  of  hea- 
ven," said  Vult,  "  and  just  now  its  blank  or  reversed 
side  is  up  ;  yet  if  one  would  lay  a  dollar  upon  the 
map,  I  should  not  look  upon  it  with  displeasure." 

The  next  morning,  Walt  spoke  of  his  visions  du- 
ring the  nightingale  twilight  of  the  flute,  and  his 
preparation  of  an  anecdote  for  the  romance.  "  The 
hero  had  been  blamed  because  he  rejoiced  at  the 
promise  of  a  sick  and  deaf  old  woman,  who,  on  ac- 
count of  his  kindness  to  her,  had  said  she  would 
remember  him  every  night  in  her  prayers.  He 
replied,  that  it  was  not  for  the  effect  of  her  prayers, 
even  if  they  could  be  answered,  upon  himself, 
but  that  the  poor,  old,  frozen  being  could  thus 
every  evening  enjoy  one  moment  of  elevation  and 
warmth.  —  Is  not  that  a  true  feature  of  myself, 
Vult.?"  "It  is  true  of  yourself,"  he  answered; 
in  art,  as  in  the  sun,  the  hay  only  becomes  warm, 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


215 


not  the  living  grass."  Walt  did  not  understand  him. 
It  often  happened,  that  he  caught  the  meaning  later 
than  the  words  of  Vult's  observations. 

The  next  evening,  it  was  that  of  a  festival,  Vult 
went  back  to  his  old  custom  of  perambulating  the 
streets  during  the  lighting  of  the  lamps,  to  invite  an 
adventure  with  an  actress,  drink  Burgundy  (which, 
when  sugar  was  added,  Walt  thought  the  worthiest 
of  wines),  unite  his  flute  with  others  in  the  street; 
and,  at  last,  in  the  coffee-house,  fret  himself  half- 
dead,  that  he  had  become  entangled  in  conversation 
with  those  he  looked  upon  with  the  most  fixed  con- 
tempt. Walt  remained  joyfully  at  home,  finding  in 
the  smallest  little  flower  that  thrust  itself  through  the 
snow,  as  much  honey  äs  he  needed.  As  the  days  be- 
came shorter,  he  rejoiced  in  the  length  of  the  evenings ; 
forgetting  that  he  should  rejoice  just  as  much  when, 
later,  the  days  began  to  lengthen.  Upon  one  who 
had  been  accustomed  to  so  little,  weighed  no  im- 
portunate desires.  He  possessed  the  clear  crystal- 
lization water  of  phantasy,  without  which,  the  lightest 
forms  of  joy  fall  into  ashes.  Yet  his  heaven  was 
not  always  removed  far  above  the  air  of  this  earth. 
It  was  sometimes  as  real  as  the  blue  sky  of  the 
theatre  ;  as  secure  as  the  canopy  of  the  bed.  In  all 
Sunday  sounds,  in  the  court-gardens,  in  the  winter 
concerts,  as  wandering  through  the  streets  he  lis- 
tened, he  took  a  more  spiritual  part  than  he,  who 
bore  a  jewelled  star  or  key,  and  failed  in  both  signs 
within.    On  Sunday,  he  bought  at  a  fruit-house  one 


216 


"WALT  AND  VULT, 


of  tlie  best  Borsdorfer  apples,  and,  in  the  twilight  of 
evening,  he  said,  "  Certainly,  at  this  moment,  in  the 
difierent  courts  of  Europe,  Borsdorfers  are  placed  on 
the  tables,  but  only  as  a  part  of  the  dessert.  I  must 
make  it  serve  for  my  supper.  But,  if,  oh,  thou  good 
God  !  I  desired  more  or  better,  I  should  not  deserve 
thy  bounty,  that,  with  a  quiet,  deep  joy,  like  a  per- 
petual fountain,  has  overflowed  my  soul."" 

In  the  transparent  net  of  his  imagination,  every 
joy-shooting  butterfly  was  caught ;  every  star  there, 
sparkled  clearly  ;  Italian  flowers,  whose  German  con- 
servatory were  the  ladies'  shawls  worn  in  the  street ; 
a  Canary-bird,  who,  in  the  midst  of  a  German  win- 
ter, brought  the  sunny  Canary  islands  to  his  door ; 
and  Flora,  the  bed-maker,  as  she  flew  with  warbling 
notes  over  the  stairs,  was  to  him  the  Prima  Donna  of 
the  age.  He  took  the  song  of  a  young  Jew,  from  the 
next  house,  for  tliat  of  the  true  nightingale ;  an  im- 
material error,  for  the  Philomele  that  sings  to  us, 
nestles  nowhere  but  in  our  own  breasts  !  Quickly, 
as  by  the  touch  of  an  enchanter,  the  steep  and  rocky 
walls  of  necessity  were  wreathed  and  overgrown 
with  ivy  and  flowers.  The  moonbeams  seemed  to 
hang  every  common  object  in  the  chamber  with  a 
festival  tapestry  ;  and  the  heaven  itself  to  rest,  with 
a  still  more  celestial  aspect,  upon  the  earth.  "Thus," 
he  said  to  himself,  many  times,  "  thus  it  was  once 
before,  on  that  memorable  evening  when  I  walked 
in  the  quiet  moonbeams  of  Wina's  chamber,  in  Ro- 
senhof and  he  improvised  the  following 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


217 


STRECKVERS. 

"  '  Lovest  thou  me  ?  '  asked  the  youth,  every 
morning,  of  his  beloved.  Blushing,  she  cast  down  her 
eyes,  and  was  silent.  She  grew  paler,  and  he  asked 
again  ;  but  she  only  blushed,  and  was  silent.  At 
length,  as  she  was  on  her  death-bed,  he  came  again, 
and  asked,  but  only  to  relieve  his  pain,  '  Dost  thou 
not  love  me  ?  '  she  answered,  '  yes  ! '  and  died  !  " 

He  continued  to  sing  more  inwardly  ;  time  and 
the  world  had  vanished,  when  Vult  came  cheerfully 
back,  and  brought  the  news  that  Wina  had  returned ; 
and  he  concealed,  gaily,  the  importance  of  this  news 
in  his  own  eyes,  by  a  second,  at  which  he  laughed 
heartily.  This  was,  that  in  passing  he  had  called 
upon  his  shoemaker,  to  ask,  whether  in  fourteen 
days  he  had  found  no  fifteenth  to  rehabilitate,  to  re- 
store his  boots  (their  soles,  alas  !  pressed  out)  to 
perfection.  He  had  met  the  man  only,  upon  his 
return,  who  kept  continually  turning  him  to  the  shad- 
owed side  of  the  road.  After  a  long  sermon,  of 
which  the  boots  had  been  the  penitential  text,  he 
saw  that  the  man  carried  the  boots  about  on  his  own 
legs,  to  step  them  out  a  little  more,  before  he  re- 
paired them.  "  Was  not  this  joke  worth  as  much 
as  the  best  pair  of  boots  ?  "  "  Is  it,  then,  so  won- 
derful ?  "  said  Walt,  dreamingly.  "  Why,"  asked 
Vult,  "  do  you  look  so  strangely  ?  Have  you  been 
melancholy  in  my  absence  ?  "    "  I  was  blessed,  and 


218 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


now  am  far  more  so,"  he  answered,  without  further 
explanation. 

The  ecstasy  of  delight,  like  the  intensity  of  pain, 
makes  one  stern  and  serious ;  and  a  man  is  calm, 
with  a  pale  countenance,  but  within,  full  of  celestial 
dreams. 


No.  56.    Wintei^  plover. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


219 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

RECOLLECTIONS. 

Walt  expected  nothing  less,  the  next  morning,  than 
a  servant,  out  of  breath,  from  the  General  Zablocki's, 
to  summon  him,  hastily,  to  the  writing-table.  Nothing 
came.  The  man  of  middle  rank  believes,  that  the 
man  above  him  stands  one  step  higher  on  the  social 
ladder,  merely  to  overlook  him.  This  one,  however, 
has  his  eye  less  upon  the  man  beneath,  than  upon 
the  back  of  the  one  preceding  him  ;  and  thus  it  is, 
up  and  down.  The  middle  man  receives  from  the 
higher  no  other  forgetfulness,  than  he  again  throws 
upon  the  one  beneath  him. 

Vult  could  scarcely  wait  for  the  twilight,  to  flutter, 
like  a  twilight-butterfly,  out  into  the  evening.  Walt, 
also,  counted  upon  the  evening,  to  act  at  home,  but 
in  a  spiritual  manner,  the  part  of  Psyche^  the  day 
and  the  night  butterfly ;  and,  heavens  !  he  succeeded 
so  well,  that  when  Vult  came,  late,  and  not  in  very 
good  humor,  home,  he  found  Walt  gay  —  youthfully, 
almost  childishly  gay. 

"  I  swear,"  said  Vult,  "  you  have  had  company 
this  evening ;  I  know  not  whom  ;  perhaps  the  most 
agreeable  (he  referred  secretly  to  Raphaela) ;  or 


2-20 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


perhaps  the  Magister  Dyk  has  written  ?  "  "I  passed 
the  whole  evening  with  memory ;  even  as  far  back 
as  childhood  ;  I  had  no  other  company,"  said  Walt. 
"  Teach  me  this  art,"  cried  Vidt. 

The  little  schoolmaster  Wutz,  of  Jean  Paul,  goes 
back  to  his  childhood  as  I  do.  Thus,  a  poet  will 
gtiess  at  the  inmost  soul.  I  could,  indeed,  listen  for 
whole  long  days  to  descriptions  of  the  little  spring- 
blossoms  of  early  life.  In  old  age,  when  a  man  is  a 
second  time  a  child,  docs  he  hrst  permit  himself  to 
be  so  for  the  first  time,  and  to  look  back  into  the 
early  glow  of  lite.  To  you,  I  would  say,  Vult,  that 
I  think  beings  more  exalted  in  the  scale  of  existence, 
that  is,  angels,  are  less  blessed  than  man,  because 
they  can  remember  no  childhood  ;  although  God, 
perhaps,  has  granted  to  every  creature  a  period  like 
that  of  childhood,  never  to  be  forgotten ;  for  w^as 
not  Jesus  himself  a  child  from  his  birth  ?  Does 
not  the  life  of  childhood  consist  of  joy  and  hope, 
brother  ?  and  its  April  rain,  of  tears,  passes  quickly 
over." 

"  Early  rain  is  a  sign  that  old  women  will  dance, 
and  so  on.  The  sorrows  of  the  young,  and  the 
pleasures  of  the  old,  and  so  on,"'  said  Vult.  "  But 
do  your  recollections  of  to-day  include  any  thing 
touching  me  ?  I  stand  by  you  now^,  with,  new  linea- 
ments." 

"  A  new  feature  from  childhood  is  a  golden  pres- 
ent," Walt  answered ;  "  but  you  will  to-day  find 
them  too  childish,  perhaps.    I  will  take  only  two 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


221 


days,  nearly  the  shortest  and  the  longest.  The  first 
happens  about  the  time  of  Advent.  In  the  winter  a 
village  is  beautiful;  we  can  see  more  of  it,  for  we 
live  more  together.  Take,  for  example,  Monday.  I 
had  rejoiced  all  Sunday  at  the  prospect  of  the  school 
of  Monday.  Every  child  must  come,  by  starlight, 
about  seven  o'clock,  with  his  little  light;  I  and  thou 
had  beautiful  ones  of  painted  wax.  Perhaps  I  carried 
under  my  arm,  with  more  pride,  a  quarto  volume, 
some  octavos,  and  a  little  Sedez  work." 

"I  remember,"  said  Vult,  "  when  you  brought  our 
mother  wheat  from  the  Wirthshaus,  you  expounded 
Greek  to  Markus  and  his  oxen." 

"  Then  the  delightful  hour  of  singing  began  in  the 
sweet,  warm  school-room,  and  the  A,  B,  C  dwarfs 
had  permission  to  speak  loud  to  the  candidate,  and 
to  get  up,  and  walk  round  a  little,  without  reproof. 
Now  the  map  was  hung  up,  and  we  were  so  de- 
lighted that  Haslau  and  Elterlein  and  the  around- 
lying  villages  were  upon  it :  or  if  the  master  spoke 
of  the  stars,  and  their  inhabitants,  I  inly  resolved  to 
repeat  the  same  to  our  parents  and  servants,  in  the 
evening  ;  or  if  he  called  us  to  read  aloud  —  " 

"  You  remember,"  interrupted  Vult,  "  that,  let 
him  say  what  he  would,  I  always  read  the  word 
Sacrament  with  an  accent,  as  though  I  cursed ;  the 
same  with  Donnerwetter.  I,  also,  was  the  only  one 
who  in  repeating  the  prayers,  in  common  with  the 
others,  composed  a  species  of  tune." 

"  I  would  willingly  have  given  the  poor  man  some 


222 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


pleasure,  If  I  had  been  able,"  said  Walt.  "  I  often 
prayed,  softly,  an  our  father^  that  God  would  give  him 
a  finch,  when  he  watched  so  secretly  behind  his 
snares  ;  and  you  will  remember  that  I  always  brought 
him  our  principal  dish,  with  meat,  and  you,  only  the 
porridge-pot.  How  I  always  rejoiced  at  seeing  him 
again  in  the  school." 

"  Does  any  one  find  me  severe  against  the  school- 
master, I  will  merely  tell  them  that  he  once  took  a 
pipe,  as  a  forfeit,  from  me,  and  in  the  very  hour 
smoked  it  out,  publicly,  before  my  nose,"  said  Vult. 
"  Is  this  exemplary,  moral  behavior  for  schoolmas- 
ters.? Then,  they  forbid  us  fishing  and  bird-snaring, 
and  like  princes  take  all  the  game  themselves." 

"  Oh,  that  precious  school-time,"  Walt  resumed. 
"  I  desired  to  know  all  that  was  taught,  and  all  that 
was  forbidden.  The  least  of  the  sciences  was  full 
of  novelty  for  me.  Then  came  the  Pastor,  with  his 
great  eyebrows,  in  his  priest's  ornaments,  and  con- 
founded the  schoolmaster,  as  an  Emperor  or  Pope 
would  confound  a  Land  regent.  How  terrible  was 
the  sound  of  his  bass  voice  !  How  every  one  wished 
to  be  highest,  and  every  word  of  the  master  had  three- 
fold weight  through  his.  I  believe  we  are  happier  in 
childhood  than  in  age,  because  it  is  easier  to  find,  or 
to  choose  a  great  man.  One  who  is  truly  a  great 
man  to  us,  gives  us  a  foretaste  of  Heaven." 

"  In  so  far,"  said  Vult,  "  I  would  be  a  child  again, 
that  I  could  be  able  to  admire.  A  flea  easily  finds 
his  elephant.  Does  one  become  old,  he  finds  in  the 
future,  not  even  a  dog  to  admire." 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


223 


"  Now  came  eleven  o'clock,  when  we  both  ran  to 
the  tower,  to  hear  the  sound,  and  see  the  rolling  of 
the  bell.  I  remember  well  that  you  ran  up  to  hang 
by  the  rope  as  the  bell  revolved,  although  many  said 
you  would  be  carried  through  the  sounding-hole.  I 
could  myself  have  flown  through,  could  I  have  seen 
from  thence  the  village  full  of  noisy  threshers,  and 
the  dark  mountain  road  that  led  to  the  city,  and 
beyond,  the  distant  snow-field,  the  hills,  and  meadows, 
and  the  blue  heaven  over  all  —  yet  at  that  time,  a 
heaven  was  not  necessary  to  the  earth  —  behind  me, 
I  had  the  earnest  bell,  with  its  ice-cold  tongue,  and  I 
thought  with  terror,  how  in  its  solitary,  frosty  midnight, 
it  would  speak  to  my  deep  heart,  in  my  warm  bed." 

"  By  heaven,  thou  art  right,  Walt ;  and  never  do  I 
hear  that  sound  without  a  shudder,  such  as  wakes  the 
miller  at  midnight,  as  soon  as  the  rushing  mill-wheel 
stands  still.  Our  life  has  its  wood,  and  its  water 
world.  Meantime,  this  does  not  suit  the  present 
moment." 

"  Do  not  take  back  the  serious  emotion,  brother  ! 
Should  I  answer  your  comparison  with  another,  I 
would  say,  this  repose  is  like  that  upon  the  summit  of 
the  Gotthart  mountain ;  all  there  is  silent — no  bird,  no 
breeze  stirs  the  deep  repose  ;  the  one  finds  no  branch, 
the  other  no  leaf ;  but  a  powerful  world  lies  around, 
and  an  infinite  heaven,  with  all  the  other  worlds, 
moves  above  !  Shall  we  now  go  further  into  our 
childhood,  or  rest  till  morning  ?  " 

"  Now,  by  all  means,  now,"  he  answered. 

"  In  the  afternoon  school,"  continued  Walt,  "  the 


224 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


sky  was  so  filled  with  snow-flakes,  that  we  could 
scarcely  see  in  the  dark  school-room  to  read  the  little 
bible.  We  were  dismissed  early,  and  every  one 
sprang,  and  measured  his  idle  limbs  in  the  new-fallen 
snow.  You  threw  your  book  in  at  the  door,  and 
remained  out  till  the  sound  of  the  vesper  bell.  I 
rarely  followed  you.  God  knows  why,  I  was  always 
more  childish,  domestic,  and  helpless  than  you.  I 
did  my  foolery  or  mischief  alone,  you  with  strangers, 
as  their  leader." 

"  I  was  born  for  a  man  of  business,  Walt." 

"  But  in  the  vesper  hour  I  preferred  reading.  I 
had  upon  the  shelf  many  descriptions,  partly  of  the 
north  pole,  partly  of  ancient  northern  times,  and  the 
earliest  wars  of  the  Scandinavians  ;  the  more  horri- 
bly cold  I  found  everything  in  the  geographies  and 
histories,  so  much  more  snug  and  domestic  was 
everything  about  me  ;  and  even  now,  the  old  northern 
histories  seem  like  the  childhood  of  the  world,  the  Gre- 
cian and  Roman  more  like  the  future.  Our  people 
came  rubbing  their  frozen  hands  from  the  garden, 
where  they  had  been  covering  the  trees  and  beehives 
with  straw.  The  fowls  were  driven  into  the  room,  be- 
cause in  the  warm  smoke  they  would  lay  more  eggs. 
The  lights  were  spared,  as  we  waited  anxiously  for  our 
father.  You  and  I  stood  at  the  head  or  foot  of  the 
cradle  of  our  blessed  sister,  and  in  the  midst  of  our 
violent  rocking,  we  sang  the  cradle-song  of  the  green 
woods,  till  the  little  soul  opened  her  dew-shimmering 
eyes.    At  last  the  tormented  man  stepped  over  the 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


225 


threshold,  laden  with  snow,  and  before  he  had  laid 
down  his  saddle-bags,  a  thick  candle  was  on  the 
table.  What  splendid  news,  money,  and  other  things 
he  brought  us,  together  with  his  own  joy  !  " 

"  Who  doubts  his  joy  less  than  I  ?  "  said  Vult, 
"  when  he  beat  me  for  expressing  my  own  in  a  noisy 
way  ;  for  a  dog  is  never  more  troublesome,  than  when 
he  springs  joyfully  at  his  master's  return." 

"  Joke  not,  but  think  what  he  brought  us —  me  a 
sheet  of  writing-paper  for  my  own  money  ;  at  that 
time  I  could  not  believe  a  thing  so  broad  and  pure 
could  cost  no  more  than  a  farthing  —  an  A,  B,  C 
book  for  the  sister,  with  gold  letters  upon  the  cover. 
—  But  the  best  was  the  new  almanac  —  I  felt  that  I 
held  the  future  in  my  hand,  like  a  tree  loaded  with 
fruit.  If  the  next  day,  when  the  candidate  came  to 
dinner,  we  heard  for  the  tenth  time,  with  delight,  the 
many  stories  our  father  had  brought  home.  You, 
afterwards,  would  scratch  upon  a  shingle  violin,  with 
waxed  threads  of  twine,  and  I  turned  a  glimmering 
spark  into  a  wheel  of  fire  ;  I,  and  thou,  and  the  tall 
servant,  whose  face  comes  before  me  now  as  beauti- 
ful !  (perhaps  to  all  children,  those  they  have  been 
accustomed  to  are  beautiful,)  played  and  sang 

*  Ring,  ring,  rey —  here  are  children  three 

Sitting  in  an  elderbush,  crying  all  musch,  musch,  musch. 

You  are  out. 

*  There  sits  the  lady  with  the  gold  ring,  and  her 
Little  children  three  —  What  will  they  eat? 
Little  fish  —  What  will  they  drink?    Red  wine.  — 

You  are  out.' 

VOL.  II.  15 


226 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


With  true  delight  I  lately  read  the  little,  simple, 
childish  thing,  in  Grater's  Bragur.  I  shall  begin  my 
history  in  a  wholly  different  manner." 

"  Do  not  think  of  it,"  said  Vult.  "  Life  always 
begins  like  the  Grecian  drama,  with  a  simple  come- 
dy. But  before  you  grow  up,  let  us  have  the  promised 
summer  day." 

"  It  shall  be  the  festival  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  and 
the  very  week  that  you  went  from  us.  Upon  this 
festival,  that  falls  in  the  most  beautiful  time  of  the 
year,  you  will  not  have  forgotten  that  our  parents 
always  went  to  the  holy  supper.  That  on  Sunday, 
as  always  on  a  fast-day  evening,  our  dear  parents 
appeared  kinder,  and  conversed  more  with  us  child- 
ren than  usual.  God  grant  they  may  at  this  moment 
enjoy  the  happiness  that  fills  my  heart  at  its  remem- 
brance. The  mother  prayed  out  of  the  little  dark 
communion-book,  I  stood  behind,  and  prayed  uncon- 
sciously with  her,  merely  because  I  turned  over  the 
leaf,  when  she  had  got  to  the  bottom.  Our  peasant's 
apartment  was  as  clean  and  as  much  ornamented  for 
this  Sunday,  as  upon  the  holy  Christmas  evening,  but 
far  more  beautifully,  and  with  a  richer  perfume,  for 
the  odor  of  the  garden  blossoms  penetrated  the  whole 
house,  through  every  window  and  roof-tile  ;  and  the 
heavens  in  the  evening  were  full  of  stars  and  incense. 
The  Generalin*  walked  so  late,  with  her  child  in  her 
hand,  upon  the  castle  wall,  that  although  I  could  then 


*  lu  German  ihe  wife  hears  the  title  of  her  husband. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


227 


speak  Latin,  she  appeared  to  me,  in  her  white  dress, 
like  the  virgin  mother  with  her  blessed  child." 

"  Had  General  Zablocki  then  a  son  ?  " 

Walt  answered,  much  embarrassed,  "  at  this  dis- 
tance of  time,  her  daughter  comes  back  to  me  as 
such  ;  and  I  could  now,  if  you  would  not  laugh,  weep 
for  joy  at  the  change  —  " 

"  Weep  then,  in  the  devil's  name  !  Who  then 
can  laugh,  but  Satan  himself,  when  a  man  is  honesty 
itself?  " 

"  I  loved  my  father  more  on  Sunday,  than  any 
other  day,  because  on  Sunday  he  always  shaved. 
The  festival  of  the  Holy  Trinity  was  always  a  blue 
morning,  full  of  larks,  and  the  perfume  of  the  birch 
trees.  Beneath,  I  found  our  mother,  who  usually 
went  to  church  in  the  afternoon  only,  already  dress- 
ed, and  our  father  in  his  sacrament  coat,  and  thus 
they  both  appeared  to  me  highly  respectable.  Thou 
and  I  followed  them  to  the  evening  service,  and  I 
recollect  how  the  devotion  of  my  parents  filled  my 
whole  heart  during  the  sermon." 

"  I  was  never  happier,"  said  Vult,  "  than  on  a 
communion-day,  for  I  knew  my  father  held  it  a  sin 
to  beat  me  before  sundown  —  but  does  it  not  remain 
glowing  in  your  soul,  is  it  not  painted  there  with 
burning  colors,  that  this  very  Trinity  Sunday,  seated 
in  the  choir,  I  drew  with  a  pocket-glass,  the  sun- 
beams, that  were  like  a  bird  of  paradise,  through  the 
whole  church,  and  flashed  them  upon  the  closed  eyes 
of  the  pastor,  while  I  looked  and  listened  calmly  at 


228 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


him  —  and  now  I  remenfiber  all  —  that  the  candidate 
whipped  me,  and  my  father,  from  mere  devotion, 
suffered  me  to  be  imprisoned,  instead  of  which,  I 
should  have  much  preferred  his  beating  me  half 
dead." 

"  But  yet,  in  the  church  you  were  on  the  right  side 
of  the  altar-cloth,  with  the  oblation,  and  I  on  the  left, 
with  the  cup  —  I  shall  never  forget  how  humble  and 
touching  our  pale  father  appeared  to  me  upon  the 
scarlet  steps  of  the  altar,  while  the  pastor,  speaking 
very  loud,  held  the  golden  cup  to  him  —  Ah,  how  I 
wished  he  would  drink  a  great  deal  of  the  wine  ;  and 
then  the  deeply  bowed  mother !  Ah,  I  wished  the 
wine  might  be  good  for  her.  Childhood  knows  only 
the  innocent  white  roses  of  love  ;  later  they  become 
red,  and  blush  with  shame.  But  before  our  mother 
could  kneel,  stepped  up  the  majestic,  tall  Generalin, 
with  her  dark,  lustrous,  silken  dress,  to  the  altar  steps, 
sinking  her  knees,  and  her  long  eye-lashes,  as  in  the 
presence  of  God  ;  and  the  whole  church  echoed  with 
her  tones,  so  silent  were  they  in  the  devout  presence 
of  this,  for  our  village,  ideal  duchess." 

"  Does  the  daughter  look  like  her,  Walt  ?  " 

"  The  mother  is,  at  least,  like  her,"  he  answered. 
"  As  they  left  the  church,  the  organ  played  very 
loud,  and  every  one  bore  home  upon  his  countenance 
the  hopes  of  a  long,  happy  day.  The  easy,  gilt 
coach  of  the  Generalin  rattled  through  us  all,  and  the 
clean,  richly-dressed  servants  sprang  up  —  " 

"  She  did  not  come  too  often,"  said  Vult. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


229 


"  Our  father  went,  in  his  Sunday  coat,  to  dine 
with  the  pastor,  witli  our  mother  behind  him  ;  and  I, 
who  saw  the  pastor's  door  open,  and  the  turkey  upon 
the  table,  looked  upon  both  with  respect.  When  I 
saw  my  fatlier  sitting  down  low  at  the  pastor's  table, 
I  thought  with  satisfaction,  that  if  I  was  ever  any 
things  I  should  look  back  upon  him  as  a  very  dis- 
tinguished man." 

"  That  reminds  me,"  said  Vult,  "  how  often  I 
also  have  sworn  to  think  of  my  honorable  descent; 
and,  if  I  arise  to  any  thing  very  high  in  public  esti- 
mation, to  do  nothing  to  mortify  you  or  our  parents. 
One  cannot  too  early  accustom  himself  to  modesty, 
as  he  cannot  tell  how  infinitely  great  he  may  be  in 
the  end." 

"  At  length,  we,  with  all  the  respectable  guests, 
went  home.  Our  father  laid  aside  his  scarlet  waist- 
coat, and,  with  me  and  our  mother,  went  to  walk 
till  evening,  when  we  should  sup  in  the  garden- 
house.  I  cannot  believe  there  was  ever  such  a 
splendid  evening ;  all  the  world,  dressed  and  orna- 
mented, were  in  the  free  air  ;  Madam  Zablocki  and 
other  respectable  people  were  walking,  with  red  silk 
parasols  ;  but  a  heart  that  beat  in  a  brother's  bosom, 
could  not  bear  that  you  should  be  a  prisoner  —  " 

"  Sacrement  !  "  said  Vult. 

"And  it  was  natural,  that  I  and  the  servant  should 
place  a  ladder  against  the  chamber-window,  that  you 
might  come  down  and  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  the 
village.    No  !  no  promenade  with  men  is  ever  so 


230 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


delightful  as  that  a  child  takes  with  his  parents.  We 
went  through  the  high,  green  cornfields,  where  I  led 
the  little  sister  behind  me,  through  the  furrows.  We 
drew  muscle-shells  from  the  river,  on  account  of 
their  shining  surface.  The  floating  timber,  in  piles, 
from  distant  cities,  shot  past  us,  and  I  had  willingly 
shipped  with  them  for  distant  places.  The  sheep 
were  already  shorn,  and,  because  they  were  naked, 
they  were  nearer  to  my  heart  than  if  their  wool  had 
divided  us.  The  trees  inclined  towards  each  other, 
as  the  clouds  moved  dropping  over  them,  as  the  men 
had  before  done  at  the  holy  supper.  We  went  into 
the  garden-house  —  that  within  and  without  is  white  ; 
but  in  the  morning  glow  of  life,  this  little  house, 
with  its  lovely  name,  rises  over  all  proudly-roofed 
and  ornamented  dwellings  —  all  the  windows  and 
doors  were  open ;  sun  and  moon  looked  in  ;  the  red 
and  white  apple-buds  pressed  in  upon  their  stiff 
branches,  and  sometimes  a  snow-white  apple-blos- 
som. O,  Vult,  I  would  willingly  give  the  apple  for 
its  blossom  !  The  bees  gave  signs  of  a  near  swarm- 
ing. I  imprisoned,  in  a  box,  a  golden  beetle,  for 
which  I  had  long  saved  some  grains  of  sugar  ;  till 
this  day,  the  gold  and  emerald  of  this  German  bird 
of  paradise  shines  before  me.  I  carried  home  slips 
of  trees,  from  the  garden,  to  plant  a  grove  under 
my  window,  the  height  of  my  knee.  The  birds 
sang,  as  though  they  had  agreed  to  meet  in  this  little 
garden,  which  consisted  of  five  apple-trees,  two 
cherry,  and  a  few  plum-trees,  together  with  good 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


231 


currant  and  hazle-bushes.  There  was  the  melody 
of  a  pair  of  finches,  of  which,  my  father  said,  one 
sang  a  high  glee,  the  other,  the  song  of  the  bride- 
groom ;  but  I  preferred  then,  and  even  now  prefer 
the  golden  thrush,*  which  my  parents  said  sang  in 
the  wheat,  and  that  if  I  passed  through  with  a  sickle, 
I  should  cut  him  in  two. 

"  What,  then,  is  that  mystery  in  the  human  heart, 
that  makes  me,  as  I  pass  through  the  meadows,  and 
hear  the  song  of  the  thrush,  as  he  hangs  beneath  the 
leaves,  prefer  it  to  the  divine  nightingale  (who,  in- 
deed carries  little  purely  through),  and  spring  to 
seek  it  ?  Then  the  whole  garden  rises  before  me, 
all  its  branches  colored  by  the  evening  rose-color, 
and  it  hangs,  like  a  temple  of  the  sun,  with  towers 
and  pinnacles  in  the  sky ;  and  the  stars  are  May- 
flowers ;  and  the  broad  earth  becomes  a  weaving-stool 
for  golden  dreams. 

"  We  wandered  late  to  the  house.  The  clear 
glow-worm  hung  like  golden  dew-drops  in  the  shrubs, 
and  the  whole  village  was  enjoying  its  festival ;  even 
the  little  cowherds,  at  last,  in  their  Sunday  dress  ;  in 
the  alehouse  there  was  singing,  and  music  upon  the 
castle-terrace. 

"  And  did  not  my  father,"  continued  Vult,  "  when 
he  found  me  partaking  of  these  joys,  seize  me  by  the 
hair  of  my  head,  and  beat  me  ?  Oh,  that  the  devil 
would  fetch  all  education,  so  that  he  himself  could 


*  Emberiza  citrinella.  Lin. 


232 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


give  none  !  What  now  can  take  from  me  the  effect 
of  those  beatings,  and  that  imprisonment  ?  You  can 
easily  remember  with  satisfaction,  and  draw  with 
pleasure,  the  repeating-watch  of  recollection  from 
your  pocket ;  but,  ach  Gott !  what  have  I  to  soften 
my  recollections,  but  the  transient  aurora  of  a  shoot- 
ing star  ?  Oh  !  how  happy,  how  happy  is  it  in  one's 
power  to  make  a  child  ;  but  try  it  upon  a  villain, 
gray,  at  forty  years  !  One  day  of  childhood  admits 
of  more  variety,  than  a  whole  year  of  manhood ! 
Look,  how  it  has  converted  me,  if  I  may  use  the 
expression,  from  a  tender,  white-faced  child,  to  one 
brown,  smoked,  and  heated,  like  an  old  pipe's-head. 
Do  not  try  to  warm  me  again,  Walt !  What  do  I 
see  in  your  Elysium,  and  in  your  Elysian  fields,  but 
a  couple  of  chairs,  our  bed,  and  our  screen  ?  You, 
good  millionaire,  rich  only  with  the  coinage  of  mem- 
ory, and  a  wooden  seat  of  the  blessed  Oh  !  I 

would  —  but  here  comes  .    Perhaps  he  brings 

us  yet,  Walt,  a  celestial  messenger,  to  open  the 
gates  of  heaven !  " 

At  this  moment,  the  yellow  postmaster  entered, 
with  the  Romance  of  the  Heart  under  his  arm,  that 
the  Magister  Dyk  had  sent  back,  with  the  words,  that 
he  would  willingly  be  the  editor  of  some  kind  of  plea- 
santries, but  not  of  such  as  those.  "  Now  is  not  that 
a  sunbeam  struck  from  our  heaven  ?  "  asked  Vult. 
"  Ah  ! "  said  Walt,  "  I  believe  I  have  hitherto  been 
too  happy,  and,  therefore,  comes  always  a  little  trou- 
ble. It  was  well  the  work  was  not  wholly  lost  by  the 
post." 


OR  THE  TWINS.  233 

Vult  sat  down  upon  the  spot,  and,  in  his  wrath, 
wrote  an  unfranked  letter  to  the  magister,  in  which, 
the  politeness  of  the  epistolary  style  was  wholly 
omitted. 

No.  57.    Poisonous  Chitterlings. 


The  translator  has  somewhat  abridged  this  chapter  of  childish 
recollections,  which  she  thought  might  be,  to  the  reader,  like  the 
repetition  of  earlier  parts  of  the  book. 


234 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

PKOOF-SHEETS.  WINA. 

The  next  morning  came  another  manuscript, 
accompanied  by  a  strange  printed  sheet.  The  com- 
positor of  the  Passvogel  book-concern  handed  him 
the  first  proof-sheet,  that  the  heir  of  the  Kable  estate 
might  thereby  fulfil  the  article  of  the  testament. 
The  title  of  the  work  was,  "  The  Literary  Men  of 
Haslau,  alphabetically  arranged,"  by  Schiess  —  now 
in  everybody's  hands.  It  was  written  with  Latin  let- 
ters, in  good  German,  but  wholly  illegibly,  and  includ- 
ed every  Haslauer  who  had  written  for  his  country, 
or  the  world,  more  than  one  page,  that  is,  two  pages, 
or  one  leaf ;  together  with  a  short  appendix  of  the 
learned  of  the  country,  who  had  died  when  children. 
When  we  reckon  the  multitude  of  authors  that  Fiken- 
scher  has  excluded,  merely  on  that  account,  from 
his  learned  Bayreuth;  that  he  has  admitted  none  who 
have  not  written  more  than  one  sheet,  or  that,  if  they 
are  poetry,  do  not  extend  to  two  without  the  preface  ; 
and,  that  Meusel,  in  his  learned  Germany^  thrusts 
all  out  who  have  written  only  one  pamphlet,  and 
admits  those  only  who  have  written  two  ;  every  one 


OR  THE  TWINS 


235 


must  indeed  wish  to  be  born  in  Haslan,  merely  to  be 
included  among  its  learned  men. 

Walt  immediately  began  his  corrections.  He  had 
long  been  acquainted  with  the  proof  characters,  but 
he  found  instead  of  hillocks,  cliffs  to  surmount. 
Schiess  wrote  at  the  same  time  a  learned  and  an  un- 
learned hand.  The  proof-sheet  was  woven  out  of 
names,  titles,  dates,  and  things  that  have  no  cohe- 
rence, except  in  God.  It  is  therefore  the  common 
opinion,  that  Passvogel  undertook  the  press-work  of 
the  book,  merely  for  the  oppression  of  Walt.  Vult 
would  indeed  have  helped  him,  but  Walt  considered 
all  foreign  help  as  faithless  and  false  to  the  conditions 
of  the  will,  and  corrected  alone. 

In  the  mean  time,  both  lent,  before  all  other  things, 
wings  to  their  romance ;  for  hope  never  lingers  so 
long  upon  its  death-bed,  as  when  it  concerns  a  book. 
They  sent  it  to  Herr  Merkel,  in  Berlin,  the  letter- 
writer  and  author,  that  he  might  recommend,  and 
impose  the  book  upon  Herr  Nikolai,  also  a  learned 
man. 

In  the  midst  of  their  newly  excited  hopes,  a  drizz- 
ling rain  again  fell  upon  them  ;  the  limping  notary, 
the  well-known  functionary  of  the  seven  heirs,  came 
with  Schiess'  corrections  of  the  corrected  sheet. 
Walt  had  left  one-and-twenty  faults.  It  was  shown 
from  Schiess'  manuscript,  that  he  had  left  a  c  instead 
of  an  e,  an  e  for  a  c  ;  a  comma  for  a  semicolon  ;  a  6 
for  a  9,  etc.  Walt  looked  at  it,  and  thought,  and 
said,  sighing,  "  It  is  well  it  is  no  worse  ! " 


236 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


Poor  proof-correctors !  who  has  ever  seriously  con- 
sidered the  difficulties  of  your  life  ?  So  little,  that  mil- 
lions from  all  parts  of  the  world  go  out  of  it,  without 
having  learned  what  a  proof-corrector  has  to  suffer. 
I  mean  not  merely  that  he  must  hunger,  and  thirst, 
and  learn  nothing  but  the  art  of  sitting  ;  but  if  he 
would  read  a  book,  (that  he  has  before  him  twice, 
both  as  manuscript  and  proof,)  in  order  to  correct, 
he  follows,  like  a  reviewer,  every  letter,  and  the 
sense  is  perfectly  plain,  while  he  grows  sadder  and 
more  thirsty ;  for  he  could  as  well  strive  with  the 
mist-cloud  that  rises  upon  the  Alps,  to  quench  his 
thirst. — But  would  he  enjoy  the  sense,  he  rushes 
blind  and  smooth  over  the  letters,  and  leaves  all 
standing.  Does  a  book  charm  him,  like  the  second 
edition  of  Hesperus,  he  sees  no  longer  any  printed 
nonsense,  but  takes  it  all  for  written,  and  says, 
"  now  first  will  the  divine  author  be  rightly  under- 
stood." * 

At  length,  the  sweet-voiced  chamber-maid,  from 
General  Zablocki,  brought  not  only  Raphaela  a  letter 
from  his  daughter,  but  one  flight  of  stairs  higher,  the 
request  to  Walt,  from  the  father,  that  he  should 
write  the  whole  day  with  him.  "  Oh  God  !  certain- 
ly," he  answered,  and  followed  the  maiden  down 
three  steps. 

Vult  smiled  expressively,  and  said,  "  He  was  going 


*  The  spcrnd  edition  of  the  author's  //esperus  was  admired, 
after  the  first  had  been  ridiculed. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


237 


to  copy  the  memoires  erotiques  with,  and  without  a 
pen,  and  hunt  after  maidens;  he,  poor  hound,  on 
the  contrary,  like  the  chrysalis  of  the  naturalist,  in  a 
box  of  an  apartment,  must  unfold  the  wings  of  a 
butterfly,  while  Walt  could  frolic  in  the  free  air.  A 
condor,  a  basilisk,  such  as  1  am,  may  have  love- whims 
as  well  as  a  phoenix  like  thee."  Walt  blushed  deep- 
ly, he  saw  his  own  and  Wina's  heart,  held  at  the 
same  time  against  the  clear,  free  light  of  the  sun. 
"Take  thy  flight  either  three  steps  higher,  or  three 
steps  lower !  The  maiden  pleases  me  also,"  said 
Vult,  "  she  should  rather  dwell  in  a  palace,  than  be 
a  chamber-maid."  Red  with  shame  and  anger, 
Walt,  who  began  to  guess  his  mistake,  answered, 
"  you  are  wrong  —  you  know  how  this  girl  displeas- 
ed me  at  first,  although  with  the  sweetest  musical 
voice." 

As  Walt  entered  the  great  Zablocki  palace,  before 
which  stood  many  empty  carriages,  and  found  him- 
self among  the  cold  herd  of  domestics,  Vult's  joke, 
that  his  love  should  be  either  gunpowder  under  the 
roof,  or  like  oil,  lie  still  in  the  cellar,  took  a  deep  and 
unpleasant  hold  upon  him  ;  and  he  was  now  first 
astonished  that  he  loved  Wina,  and  could  so  strange- 
ly have  preserved  the  memory  of  her  morning's 
glance.  His  happiness  bled  like  the  naked  petals  of 
a  flower,  upon  a  stem  stripped  of  every  enfolding 
leaf.  The  recollection  of  the  cause  of  his  summons 
to  the  old  writing  apartment,  came  late  to  his  mind ; 
still  later,  the  general  entered. 


238 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


"  Truly,"  thus  Walt,  approaching  him,  began  the 
conversation,  "  do  I  wish  you  happiness  of  your 
happy  return,  as  formerly,  in  Rosenhof,  (if  you 
remember  so  slight  a  thing,)  I  did  of  your  journey. 
I  trust  your  Leipsic  journey  was  only  a  continued 
pleasure-course."  "  Much  indebted,"  said  Zablocki. 
"  You  will  oblige  me,  if  you  will  consecrate  your 
day  to  me,  and  bring  the  copying  of  the  well-known 
letters  to  an  end."  "  Why  not  ?  "  said  Walt. 
"  Pardon  me  the  bold  question,  but  I  hope  the  season 
of  the  year  was  not  unfavorable  to  the  happiness  of 
your  journey  ?  " 

"  For  the  late  time  of  the  year,  the  weather  was 
good  enough,"  he  answered. 

Walt  knew  nothing  more  difficult,  than  to  ask 
questions,  that  is,  to  angle  in  an  ocean  ;  nothing 
easier  than  to  reply  to  questions,  as  the  question 
usually  embraces  the  answer  ;  he  held  it  the  duty 
also,  of  every  inferior  speaker,  to  impose  only  the 
easier  burthen  of  conversation  upon  his  superior. 
***** 

He  set  himself  diligently  to  the  copying  of  his 
beloved  manuscripts  ;  but  his  soul  dwelt,  with  all  its 
nerves,  in  the  shell  of  his  ear,  to  catch  every  sound 
of  the  concealed  being  who  was  the  Hfe  of  his  soul. 
He  wrote  no  page  without  turning  round,  and  ob- 
serving the  sacred  chamber,  that  for  a  whole  day 
was  to  be  to  him,  if  not  a  temple  of  the  sun,  at  least 
that  of  the  moon,  where  nothing  failed  but  the  moon 
itself.    The  blue,  drying-sand,  full  of  grains  of  gold  ; 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


239 


the  blue-white  inkglass  and  paper  ;  the  blue  seahng- 
wax,  and  the  perfume  of  flowers,  wafted  from  the 
adjoining  chamber,  consecrated  his  quiet,  ethereal 
festival  with  hope.  In  love,  the  harvest  festival  of 
joy,  is  divided  by  only  half  a  second  from  the  seed- 
time and  spring  festival  of  hope. 

As  he  continued  to  write,  he  painted  to  himself 
how  his  heart  would  beat,  that  already  beat  so  vio- 
lently, if  the  dear  form,  so  long  in  his  memory  and 
his  dreams,  should  spring,  like  a  living  goddess,  into 
life,  and  stand  before  him.  Nothing  came,  but  the 
hated  chamber-maid,  with  an  embroidery-frame ; 
but  soon  after  followed  the  rose,  and  the  rose-festival, 
at  the  same  moment,  and  the  blooming  Wina  entered. 
It  is  difficult  to  say  what  he  murmured,  for  he  had 
not  confidence  to  speak  to  her.  Wina  bowed  as 
deeply  before  him  as  had  he  been  the  golden  figured 
head  upon  the  general's  staff  of  office,  said  to  him 
the  most  polite  and  cordial  expressions  of  welcome, 
and  then  placed  herself  at  the  embroidery-frame. 
"  Could  she  not  have  had  a  hundred  excuses,  such  as 
ladies  find,"  Walt  thought,  "  for  her  presence  in  the 
writing  'apartment  ?  Had  she  not  her  blue  dress  to 
fetch  from  the  wardrobe,  or  the  white,  or  her  veil ; 
or  to  seal  a  letter  by  the  electrical  lamp,  or  to  seek 
her  father,  in  vain  ?  But  no,  she  entered  calmly, 
and  without  excuse,  placed  herself  before  the  em- 
broidery-frame, and  the  writer  was  dizzy  with  joy, 
as  in  a  celestial  presence.  Like  an  invisible  per- 
fume breathing  from  a  rose,  Wina's  presence  was  a 


240 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


gentle  music  about  him.  He  looked,  at  length, 
boldly,  with  longing  glances,  at  her  eyelids,  cast 
down  upon  the  embroidery  ;  at  the  seriously-closed 
lips, as  he  saw  them  reflected  in  the  glass  at  his  left; 
and,  secure,  as  he  thought,  of  his  own  invisibility, 
where  she  sat,  he  rejoiced,  that,  accidentally,  as  it 
were,  whenever  he  looked  at  her  in  the  glass,  a 
warm  blush  overspread  her  reverted  countenance. 
Once,  he  caught  the  glance  itself  in  the  glass  ;  em- 
barrassed, she  drew  softly  a  veil  over  it ;  then  again, 
as  he  met  her  open'  eye,  she  smiled  like  a  child  ; 
Walt  turned  directly  to  the  original,  and  caught  the 
smile. 

"  Has  it  been  well  with  you  since  Rosenhof,  Mr. 
Harnish  ?  "  she  said,  gently.  "  As  with  the  blessed ; 
as  7102^,"  he  answered.  He  wished,  indeed  to  have 
said  something  different,  something  more  recherche^ 
but  the  present  displaced  the  past,  and  witnessed  in 
its  name.  He,  however,  gave  back  the  question. 
"  I  lived,"  said  Wina,  "  with  my  mother — that  was 
enough  ;  you  are  yourself,  doubtless,  acquainted  with 
Leipsic  and  its  amusements  ? "  Of  these,  as  a 
starving  son  of  the  Muses,  and  of  a  poor  country 
justice,  Walt  had  known  little,  and  of  the  roses  of 
the  mercantile  RosevaUey^  he  knew  only  the  thorns ; 
for  he  entered  it  not  oftener  than  a  master-mason 
does  a  princely  hall,  to  which  he  has  entrance  only 
as  long  as  he  is  building  it.  The  higher  ranks  do 
not  more  easily  comprehend  the  lower,  than  they 
do  those  shepherds'  and  peasants'  huts,  of  which 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


241 


they  have  models  in  the  French  Gcssner ;  the  lower, 
much  less,  the  others. 

>'  Spring  and  autumn  are  there,  heavenly,"  he  said, 
"  the  latter,  full  of  nightingales,  and  the  spring,  full 
of  tender  perfumes.  Only  the  place  is  destitute  of 
mountains,  which,  in  my  opinion,  should  always  en- 
close, but  not  interrupt  a  landscape.  Upon  a  high 
mountain,  indeed,  there  is  no  landscape,  except  such, 
again,  as  distant  mountains  make  beautiful  and  grand. 
The  Leipsic  view  seems  to  narrow  in  the  limits  of  the 
eye,  for  its  boundary,  or  rather  its  boundlessness 
leaves  nothing  for  the  phantasy ;  which,  as  far  as  I 
have  learned,  is  the  case  with  the  ocean,  where  the 
horizon  is  lost  in  the  ether  of  the  heavens." 

"  Wonderfully,"  answered  Wina,  "  in  this  case, 
does  the  habit  of  the  outward  eye  decide  the  power 
of  the  inward.  I  had  a  friend  from  Lower  Saxony, 
who,  for  the  first  time,  felt  herself  as  much  lim- 
ited in  prospect,  by  our  mountains,  as  we,  by  their 
plains." 

Walt  was  so  much  struck  by  her  philosophical 
manner  of  speaking  (which,  in  a  woman,  removes 
her  further  from  the  heart  of  a  man  than  it  enlight- 
ens his  head),  that  he  scarcely  knew  what  to  say  in 
reply. 

"Did  you  visit  the  bathing-places  about  Leipsic?" 
she  asked,  somewhat  later.  Walt  understood,  not 
the  pleasure  Brunnens  in  the  neighborhood  of  Leip- 
sic, but  the  bathing-places  in  the  river,  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  the  students.    Such  a  question  from 

VOL.  II.  16 


242 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


female  lips  obliged  him  to  use  much  circumspection 
in  the  answer.  "  The  Leipsic  magistrates,"  he  said, 
"  at  the  time  he  was  there,  had,  on  account  of  the 
many  accidents  in  the  river,  appointed  private  bath- 
ing-places." Wina  was  again  misled  by  his  misin- 
terpretation of  her  question.  Thus,  in  Germany,  as 
everywhere  else,  one  who  mistakes  in  speaking,  may 
count  upon  being  misunderstood  in  the  hearing  of 
others  ;  so  few  ears  are  there,  although  they  stand 
double  on  every  head,  for  our  present  language  ; 
and  it  is  far  more  difficult  to  find  open  ears,  than 
short  ones. 

Suddenly,  the  general  sprang,  with  a  white,  pale 
face,  from  his  powdering-room  into  the  apartment, 
holding  a  picture  in  his  hand,  and  dropping  the  pow- 
der, as  though  it  were  tears,  from  his  eyelids.  "  Tell 
me  who  it  is  most  like,  the  mother  or  the  daughter  ? " 
he  exclaimed.  "  It  is,  in  fact,  bravely  retouched." 
The  picture  represented  Wina,  as  she  bent  down 
her  face  upon  the  cheek  of  a  little  daughter,  ex- 
tremely resembling  herself,  who  was  playing  with  a 
butterfly.  The  expression  of  the  mother  was  ab- 
sorbed in  interest  for  the  child's  occupation,  rather 
than  in  a  desire  for  the  child  to  look  from  the  but- 
terfly to  the  mother.  In  the  excitement  of  the  artistic 
execution,  the  general  asked  Walt,  "Is  not,  then, 
the  mother  extremely  well  taken,  my  Wina,  namely, 
whose  resemblance  we  again  find  in  the  child  ?  An- 
swer as  a  third  person."  Walt,  embarrassed  at  his 
blushes,  called  up  merely  at  the  thought  of  a  child 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


243 


of  Wina's,  answered,  "  The  resemblance  is,  indeed, 
just."  "  And  upon  both  sides,"  said  Zablocki,  with- 
out informing  the  notary  of  that,  which,  according  to 
the  expectation  of  all  people  of  rank,  should  be  well 
known  to  him,  and  was  as  follows.  The  general 
wished  to  send  to  his  separated,  banished  wife  a 
memento  of  his  tenderness,  a  mirror,  that  reflected 
herself  warmly,  and  could  remain  a  permanent  pic- 
ture ;  but,  alas  !  from  former  coldness,  he  had  never 
allowed  her  to  sit.  Fortunately,  Wina  was  now  so 
like  her,  the  few  ten  years  excepted,  that  sought  to 
divide  the  mother  from  the  daughter,  that  the  present 
Wina  could  be  painted  as  the  former  mother,  and 
the  former  little  Wina  placed  in  her  arms.  The 
child  was  painted  with  an  auricula  in  the  left  hand, 
upon  which,  with  the  right,  she  sought  to  place  a 
white  butterfly.  This  twice  -  repeated  portrait  of 
Wina,  as  a  picture,  and  as  the  original,  would  the 
general  send,  like  an  oil-painted  heaven,  opened 
upon  canvass,  to  his  wife ;  exciting  her  utmost  aston- 
ishment, that,  at  forty  miles  distance,  she  could  sit  to 
a  painter. 

When  the  father  was  gone,  Walt,  yet  deeper  in 
astonishment  and  incredulity,  remarked  to  Wina, 
that  she  seemed  so  like  that  beautiful  child,  as,  in 
his  eyes,  only  to  have  outgrown  the  portrait.  "  O  ! 
we  remain  like  ourselves  only  in  the  most  striking 
traits,"  said  Wina.  "  I  was  then,  also,  with  my 
mother;  I  believe,  the  very  day  of  the  painting,  you, 
or  your  brother  lay  ill  and  blind  with  the  smallpox ; 


244 


WALT  AXD  VÜLT, 


for  I  went  with  her,  on  that  day,  to  your  house. 
Precious  time !  I  would  willingly  take  upon  myself 
the  one  resemblance,  could  I  thereby  restore  the 
other  to  my  mother."  * 

Tlie  notary  started,  blushing,  back  from  the  illu- 
mined abyss  before  him.  and  feared  his  folly  might 
lead  him  again,  against  his  will,  to  the  extremity, 
as  he  said,  I,  also,  would  willingly  go  back  to  that 
blindness.  Night  is  the  mother  of  the  immortals," 
he  added,  and  would  have  touched  playfully  upon 
the  thought  of  the  auricular  bride.  Wina  under- 
stood of  this,  only  the  tone  and  the  glance  ;  it  was 
enough,  and  passed  rapidly  away. 

Dinner  was  announced,  Walt  thought  that  he 
should  be  invited,  as  at  the  Rosenhof  Wirthshaus,  to 
dine  at  the  general's  table.  He  rose,  therefore,  to 
be  ready  to  otier  his  arm  to  Wina.  She  continued 
her  work,  and  he  drew  near  the  embroidery-frame, 
and  looked  down  upon  the  beautiful  head,  in  which 
his  world  and  his  future  life  dweh,  concealed,  as  it 
were,  in  that  exquisite  beauty,  where  the  fruit- 
wreaths  of  the  mind  were  overshadowed  by  the 
flower- wreaths  of  the  form,  at  the  same  time  con- 
cealing and  enhancing  the  beauty.  She  arose,  and 
Walt  presented  his  arm,  to  lead  her  forth.  "  I  will," 
said  Wina,  gently,  "  return  after  dinner,  and  bring  a 
petition  for  your  heart."    She  looked,  at  the  same 


*  She  would  become  again  a  child,  to  restore  to  her  mother  the 
happiness  of  having  her  with  her. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


245 


time,  at  him  with  a  little  embarrassment  in  her  large, 
benevolent  eyes,  and,  as  an  answer  to  his  asking 
arm,  with  her  left  hand  pressed  slightly  his  own. 

More  he  needed  not ;  in  love,  a  hand  is  far  more 
than  an  arm  ;  as  a  glance  is  more  than  an  eye.  He 
remained,  possessed  of  all  the  riches  of  the  world, 
at  his  solitary  dinner,  which  the  servant  placed  upon 
the  writing-table.  His  hand,  was  now  to  him,  as 
though  consecrated  by  that  being,  who  had  hitherto 
only  touched  his  soul.  Who  can  say  why  the  pres- 
sure of  a  beloved  hand  sends  a  deeper,  a  more  en- 
chanting warmth  into  the  soul,  than  even  a  kiss,  if  it 
be  not  the  simplicity,  the  innocence,  and  the  faithful- 
ness of  the  token  ? 

He  dined  as  at  the  table  of  the  gods  ;  the  world 
was  to  him  the  temple  of  the  gods,  for  he  thought  of 
Wina's  approaching  request.  To  ask  a  favor  of  one 
who  loves,  is  to  give  more  than  to  receive.  But  why 
in  love  alone  is  this  an  exception  ?  Why  is  there  no 
enlightened  world,  where  all  human  requests  would 
be  considered  favors  ;  and  the  asker  be  thanked, 
rather  than  the  benefactor  ? 

He  perplexed  himself  about  Wina's  request,  which 
he  thought  he  should  have  known,  for  he  felt  that 
she  was  to  him  a  transparent  jewel,  without  a  cloud 
or  flaw.  It  is  the  nature  of  love  to  believe  that  the 
^  beloved  is  more  penetrable  to  him  than  to  herself ; 
so,  that  through  her  the  blue  heaven  is  visible,  and 
all  its  stars.  Hatred,  on  the  contrary,  perceives  only 
night  about  him,  needs  it,  and  produces  it. 

*  ♦ 


046 


WALT   AND  VULT, 


As  lie  kissed  the  beams  that  came  from  the  stars 
her  needle  had  left  in  the  embroidery,  his  heaven 
opened,  as  through  a  cloud,  namely,  the  folding- 
doors,  and  VVma  again  appeared.  He  would  have 
said,  I  beseech  you  for  your  request,''  but  he  held 
it  indelicate  to  call  that  a  request,  and  not  a  com- 
mand, that  Wina  had  so  called.  Thus,  he  had  tlie 
highest  courage  on  her  account,  but  not  in  her  pres- 
ence ;  and  of  the  long  prayers  to  his  saint,  which 
at  home  he  composed  and  repeated,  he  brought  to 
the  idol  itselt\  when  upon  his  knees,  only  yes,  and 
amen  ! 

Are  you  sometimes  at  the  tea-parties  of  this 
place "  began  AVina,  and  made,  as  is  tlie  habit  of 
people  of  rank,  the  customs  of  their  own  class  appa- 
rently the  custom  of  all.  "  Recently,  at  my  room, 
with  the  excellent  flute-player,  whom  you  certainly 
admire."  "  I  heard  of  that  to-day,  by  my  maiden," 
she  said,  meaning  the  news  of  tlieir  dwelling  to- 
gether. But  Walt  understood  only  that  she  had 
heard  of  their  miserable  tea-drinking  togetlier. 

I  mean,  particularly,  are  you  often  w  ith  the  tal- 
ented daughtei-s  of  the  Herr  Court  Agent }  I  speak 
especially  of  my  friend  Raphaela." 

He  related,  but  without  touching  upon  the  neces- 
sity of  bail  for  the  bill  of  exchange,  the  evening, 
when  she  sat  for  her  picture,  for  her  motlier's  birth- 
day. "  How  beautiful !  "  said  Wina,  **  she  is  even 
so.  Once,  when  she  was  with  me  in  Leipsic,  she 
fell  into  a  long  illness,  but  would  not  let  her  mother 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


247 


be  informed,  till  she  were  either  better,  or  could  re- 
turn to  her.  It  is  for  this  love  to  her  mother,  that 
she  is  dear  to  me.  I  know  not  how  a  maiden,  who 
loves  neither  mother  nor  sister,  can  really  love  any 
thing  else,  not  even  a  father." 

Walt  would  willingly  have  turned  this  remark,  in 
the  most  delicate  manner,  upon  herself;  but  he 
made  only  the  rather  common-place  remark,  that 
daughters  who  loved  their  mothers,  were  certainly 
the  best  and  most  feminine. 

"  It  is  not  worth  a  subterfuge,  as  you  will  hear, 
Mr.  Secretary  ;  receive,  therefore,  at  once,  my 
simple  request,  kindly."  It  was  this;  that,  as  Ra- 
phaela's  birth-hour  occurred  in  the  night,  or  early 
morning  of  new-year's  day,  she  wished,  by  the  as- 
sistance of  her  sister  Engelberta,  to  awake  her  to 
the  festival  of  a  new  life,  by  soft  music  and  singing ; 
but,  as  she  thought  her  own  voice  inefficient,  she  de- 
sired the  accompaniment  of  the  flute  ;  and  to  whom 
could  she  so  favorably  turn,  as  to  Mr.  Von  Harnish. 
Walt  assured  her,  joyfully,  that  Vult  would  play 
most  willingly.  She  asked  about  the  composition  of 
the  music.  Walt  assured  her  again.  "  But  for  the 
verse  I  must  also  go  to  your  worthy  friend,"  she 
said,  with  an  indescribably  lovely  smile,  "  for  I  know 
him,  through  the  newspaper,  as  a  tender  poet  of  the 
heart." 

Gratefully  surprised,  Walt  asked,  what  Vult  had 
printed  ?  when  immediately  she  repeated  to  him  the 
following  Streckvers  of  his  own. 


248 


WALT  AND  VÜLT, 


THE  MAY-BLOSSOM. 

"  White  bell  with  the  yellow  pendulum,  wherefore 
dost  thou  sink  thy  head  ?  Is  it  modesty,  that,  pale, 
like  the  snow,  thou  canst  penetrate  above  the  earth, 
yet  earlier  than  those  colored  flowers,  the  tulip  and 
the  rose  ?  Or  does  thy  pale  heart  sink  before  that 
powerful  sky,  whose  stormy  wind  heaps  a  new  earth 
upon  the  old  ?  Or,  wouldst  thou  willingly  shed,  like 
a  tear  of  joy,  thy  dew-drop  upon  the  young,  lovely 
earth  ?  Tender,  white,  budding  flower,  elevate  thy 
heart !  I  will  fill  it  with  glances  of  love,  with  tears 
of  joy.  Oh,  fairest,  first  love  of  Spring,  elevate  thy 
heart ! " 

While  Walt  listened  to  the  words  of  the  poet, 
repeated  by  Wina,  his  eyes  overflowed  with  joy  and 
love  ;  and,  as  unconsciously,  while  she  read,  her  own 
filled  with  sympathetic  tears,  he  whispered,  that  he 
was  himself  the  author. 

"  You  ?  my  friend,"  asked  Wina,  and  took  his 
hand  in  hers  ;  "  and  of  all  the  Streckverse  7  "  "  All," 
he  answered.  Wina  blushed  like  the  morning  glow 
that  precedes  the  sun,  and  it  was  reflected  upon  Walt, 
as  upon  the  earth  —  each  stifled  beneath  the  joy- 
gushing  tears,  the  mutual  sounds  that  would  have 
trembled  into  one  tone  of  joy.  They  were  like  two 
flowers,  that  the  same  breeze  bent  towards  each  oth- 
er, but,  that  never  could  meet. 

They  heard  the  step  of  her  father.    "  You  will 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


249 


make  the  text  for  the  birth-day  ?  "  she  said.  "  Oh 
yes,  yes ! "  he  answered,  and  durst  not  say  more, 
for  Zablocki  entered.  The  father  and  host  reproach- 
ed her  for  her  delay,  as  he  led  her  forth,  observing, 
that  she  knew  the  Newpeters  were  citizens,  and  that 
he  would  rather  be  an  hour  too  late  with  his  equals, 
than  fail  in  the  most  trivial  politeness  towards  them. 
She  flew  forth,  but  he  called  her  back  himself,  to 
fasten  a  chain  with  a  key  the  size  of  a  flower-seed, 
to  which  was  attached  a  golden  locket,  about  her 
beautiful  neck,  and  to  take  her  with  him.  While  he 
was  placing  it,  she  looked  gratefully  in  her  father's 
eyes,  and  threw,  as  she  turned  away,  a  flying  glance 
at  the  notary,  which  contained  the  universe  for  him. 

Never  had  Walt  experienced  anything  so  repug- 
nant as  receiving  the  reward  for  his  copying  hours, 
that  the  general  would  now  force  upon  him.  At  first, 
Zablocki  treated  the  denial  as  a  joke,  till  the  suspicion 
that  Walt  acted  from  a  feeling  of  honor,  so  offended 
his  own,  that  he  swore  violently,  that  if  he  did  not 
listen  to  him,  he  should  never  draw  a  notary  instru- 
ment in  his  house.  Walt  complied,  for  he  would  not 
bar  the  gate  of  heaven  against  himself,  with  his  own 
hands. 

He  was  now  alone,  and  for  the  last  time  a  copyist 
in  that  chamber.  He  experienced  what  men  need 
for  the  most  refined  happiness,  namely,  a  contradic- 
tion of  feeling,  a  contrast  of  wishes.  He  wished  to 
be  absent,  at  home,  to  hover  over  Wina's  head  in 
starry  dreams,  and  also  to  remain,  that  he  might 


200 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


dwell  for  the  last  moment  in  the  coronation-chamber 
of  his  life.  The  sun  shone  always  warmer,  and 
illumined  it,  like  an  enchanted  arbor  in  an  Elysian 
grove.  When  he  closed  the  door  behind  him,  it 
seemed  as  though  the  blooming  branch  had  fallen, 
upon  which,  hiiherto,  a  nightingale  had  sung  to  his 
heart. 

How  was  it  with  him  at  homo,  where  nothing  was 
wanting  but  Vult,  and  scarcely  that.  Hitherto,  the 
clouds  had  appeared  to  him  stationary,  and  the  moon 
to  lly  beyond  them  ;  now  he  saw  the  flight  of  the 
clouds,  under  tlie  firm,  beautiful  stars.  "  If  one  loves 
only  —  truly,  and  deeply,-'  he  thought,  "  gi*aut  only 
that  !  I  mean  not  myself  alone,  but  others,  and  tlie 
whole  of  life  becomes  joy.  This  joy,  tlien,  must 
many  molhei*s  possess,  many  fathei*s,  and  unnumber- 
ed friends  !  He  continually  rejoiced  at  the  happi- 
ness Wina  would  feel  on  the  new-j-ear's  night,  at 
tlie  joy  of  that  friend,  who  was  now  living  beueatli 
liim.  That  Wina  loved  and  esteemed  him,  he  could 
not  but  know  ;  but  he  knew  not  in  what  degree.  The 
regard  she  now  felt,  had  this  etTect,  tliat  it  sketched 
before  him  the  patli  of  millions  of  successive  steps, 
tliat  led  from  the  world  to  the  summit  of  the  sun, 
where  he  should  be  crowned  like  a  God. 

He  had  already,  without  knowing  it,  merely  by 
thuiking  of  the  request,  worked  out  much  of  the 
birtli-day  poem,  when  at  lengili  Vult  entered.  In  his 
anxiety  lest  Vuli's  coldness  towards  Raphaela  and 
the  nobility,  should  lead  him  to  refuse  the  musical 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


251 


festival,  he  resolved  to  approach  the  proposal  artisti- 
cally, and,  as  in  an  English  garden,  by  a  serpentine 
line  that  leads  to  a  monument.  "  Alas  !  "  he  said, 
with  the  most  joyous  expression,  "  I  have  to-day 
written  for  the  last  time,  at  the  general's."  "  Thou 
shouldst  say,  God  be  praised  ! "  answered  Vult. 
Walt  stumbled  already  in  his  meandering,  and  was 
near  sinking.  "  I  had  hitherto  hoped,"  continued 
Vult,  "  you  would  have  introduced  my  musical  mad- 
ness to  the  father,  that  the  daughter  might  sing, 
while  I  accompanied  her  with  the  flute."  "  Both  can 
be  done  without  him,  or  me,"  said  Walt,  "  I  have  a 
proposal  to  make  to  you  " 

The  flute-player  enquired  impatiently.  —  Walt 
resolved,  before  he  was  more  explicit,  to  give  him  a 
favorable  trait  of  Raphaela.  It  was  that  beautiful 
instance  of  her  silence,  when  she  was  ill,  rather  than 
distress  her  mother.  There  was  no  feature  of  cha- 
racter in  the  world,  that  could  have  been  sketched 
before  the  flute-player,  to  which  he  would  have  had 
such  an  aversion  ;  but  he  drew  the  satirical  sting 
back  into  its  sheath,  that  he  might  come  sooner  to 
the  proposal.  Walt  tormented  him  so  long  for  his 
opinion  of  Rhaphaela's  beautiful  action,  that  at  last 
he  broke  out,  "  I  swear  to  you,  I  value  the  aflfecta- 
tion  ;  the  devil  and  his  grandmother  could  not  have 
acted  more  tenderly  ;  now  speak !  " 

Walt  told  him.  "  You  are  a  good  man,"  said  Vult, 
concealing,  with  some  difficulty,  his  delight.  "  I 
undertake  it  willingly.    I  merely  joke  sometimes^ 


252 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


but  as  a  tenant,  I  would  willingly  show  the  daughter 
of  the  house  this  attention  —  and  will  do  it  —  yet  to 
speak  the  truth,  I  am  much  more  impelled  to  it  by 
Wina's  pure,  voluminous,  pearl-like  voice.  Hea- 
vens!  Why  should  not  a  singing-party  be  formed, 
especially  when  that  noble  soprano  will  join  it ; 
whose  diminuendo  and  crescendo,  brother  !  I  speak  as 
an  artist,  is  unequalled.  The  splendid  union  of  head 
and  heart,  in  that  noble  voice,  so  well  known  to  me  ; 
Walt !  it  is  impossible  for  you  to  understand  !  Ah, 
man !  will  you  believe,  that  at  that  time,  when  I 
heard  her  sing  in  Elterlein,  1  swore  she  should  never, 
with  my  will,  sing  d  secco  —  d  secco,  Walt  —  that 
is,  alone." 

It  appeared  a  little  to  Walt,  that  Vult  had  not  come 
exactly  from  dry  land.  The  evening  of  both  was 
gilded  by  the  flame  of  love.  Each  believed  that  he 
saw  clearly,  across  that  river  of  Paradise,  the  fountain 
of  the  other's  joy,  rising  misty  from  afar.  Walt 
constrained  his  brother,  jokingly,  to  write  his  resolu- 
tion down  that  evening,  that  in  the  morning  he  might 
not  be  of  another  opinion.  Vult  wrote,  "  I  will,  like 
Siegwart,  make  the  moon  my  bed-warmer,  or  hold  a 
running  fire  in  course,  if  I  do  not  immediately  com- 
pose the  best  Mozartish  music,  and  blow  it  upon  the 
enchanting  flute,  in  the  same  moment  that  this  my 
brother  composes  and  writes  his  verse  ;  and  I  deny 
every  exception,  especially,  that  I  was  not  conscious 
to-night  of  what  I  intended  to  do  to-morrow  morn- 
ing." 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


253 


"  A  true  villain  is  my  Walt,"  he  thought  in  bed. 
"  Would  another  have  penetrated  his  principal  object 
as  I  did?    Scarcely!"*  < 

No.  58.    An  old  tuning-hammer. 


*  Vult  imagined  he  wished  to  do  honor  to  Raphaela's  birth-day. 


254 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

SKATING-PARTY. 

The  next  day,  that  Walt  reflected  upon  the  birth- 
day song  for  Wina,  was  made  up  of  24  morning 
hours  The  following,  consisted  of  as  many  meridian 
hours  as  it  took  him  to  write  it  out.  It  was  as  though 
himself  should  be  glorified,  to  take  Wina's  consecrat- 
ed heart  upon  his  tongue  ;  as  though  he  must  himself 
dissolve  in  love,  so  that  her  love  to  her  friend  might 
radiate  in  his  soul,  like  a  second  rainbow.  It  is  easy 
to  love  in  another's  heart,  and  it  becomes  more  tender, 
when,  in  this  heart,  love  beats  for  a  third  ;  as  the 
second  soft  echo  is  victorious  over  the  lower  key  of 
the  first.  It  was  easy  sowing  of  the  seed  in  a  spring 
day,  when  only  singing  birds  flew  under  his  heaven, 
but  the  second  day  was  the  hot  harvest,  when  Walt 
must  bring  his  ethereal  dream  into  a  waking  form  ; 
not  only  into  the  metrical  form,  but  to  the  musical 
adaptation  ;  for  Vult  often  rejected  the  best  thoughts, 
as  incapable  of  being  sung  or  played.  Thus  the 
ethereal  spirit,  the  soul  of  the  poem,  must  be  drawn 
from  its  free  heaven,  into  an  earthly  body,  whose 
wings  were  yet  more  narrowly  confined. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


255 


It  was  easy  to  Vult,  on  the  contrary,  to  compose 
both  the  music  and  the  accompaniment ;  for  m  the 
immeasurable  ether  of  the  art  of  music,  all  may  soar 
or  expand  ;  the  heaviest  earth,  the  most  transparent 
h'ght,  without  mingling  or  confusion. 

The  difficulty  was  now  to  make  Wina  acquainted 
with  the  music  and  the  text.  Walt  proposed  many 
ways  and  means,  practicable,  but  very  foolish.  Vult 
proposed  but  this  ;  that  they  should  watch  the  haunts 
of  the  maiden,  do  nothing,  but  stand  calmly  at  their 
post,  ready  to  shoot,  and  blaze  away  when  they  saw 
the  game. 

In  the  mean  time  nothing  was  accomplished. 
Wina  learned  from  her  dressing-maid,  as  much 
as  Walt  knew.  At  length,  upon  one  clear,  Decem- 
ber twilight,  the  long  sea  (this  was  a  small  lake)  in 
the  park  was  swept  clear  of  the  fallen  snow ;  and 
yet  later,  when  the  moon  sharply  sketched  in  sha- 
dow every  dry  branch  and  twig  upon  the  white 
ground,  the  moving  cause  of  this  preparation,  the 
three  ladies,  had  vanished  into  the  near  rotunda,  a 
beautiful  cow-house,  like  the  Roman  Pantheon  in 
this,  that  it  was  open  at  the  top.  Immediately  after, 
they  led  each  other  out  again,  upon  the  sea  of  ice  ; 
all  three,  Wina,  as  well  as  Raphaela,  and  Engelberta, 
prepared  with  skates,  for  skating. 

"  God-like  !  "  cried  Walt,  as  he  observed  their 
motions.  "  The  forms  fly,  like  planets,  around,  and 
through  each  other.  What  graceful  and  waving 
lines  !  even  Engelberta  is  picturesque,  thus,  with  both 


256 


WALT  AND  VTILT, 


arms  raised."  "  Run  with  thy  music-sheet,"  said 
VuU,  "  and  be  a  man  among  them."  "  Impossible," 
answered  Walt,  "  consider  the  twihght,  and  the  deli- 
cacy ! "  "  There  is  yet  room  upon  the  sea  for  a  pair 
of  boots,"  said  Vult,  and  fluttered  three  steps  further 
down,  after  ordering  a  shop-boy  to  bring  him,  whh- 
out  delay,  a  pair  of  skates,  which  he  immediately 
put  on. 

Walt  placed  the  sacred  sheet,  filled  with  poetry 
and  music,  upon  its  birth-place,  namely,  his  heart, 
which  seemed  to  him  a  more  appropriate  place  than 
his  coat-pocket ;  while  beneath,  upon  the  lake,  the 
three  figures,  lightly  and  hastily  returning  his  greet- 
ing, glided  swiftly  by  his  long  reverence. 

But  what  development  of  the  power  of  life  did 
Vult  unfold  upon  the  ice,  and  how  hovered  the  soul 
over  that  frozen  water.  First  he  began  to  revolve, 
sometimes  as  a  comet,  a  wandering  star,  sometimes  as 
a  meteor,  around  Wina ;  then  to  protect  her,  like  the 
queen  of  the  chess-board,  as  pawn,  knight,  or  tower, 
from  every  other  queen  ;  then  to  dart,  like  love's  arrow, 
as  often  as  she  was  love's  bow,  and  not  to  suffer  her 
to  take  a  bolder  flight,  but  outspeed  her  swiftest 
course,  till  he  was  himself  outsped ;  and  then  easily 
close  the  emulating  flight  with  a  double  victory. 
These  were  the  arts,  in  which  his  beautifully  world- 
educated  form  displayed  its  value  in  easy  postures, 
and  graceful  changes. 

Walt  remained,  as  though  stranded,  on  the  shore ; 
beside  himself  with  pleasure,  and  threw  the  wreath 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


257 


of  applause  upon  their  efforts,  with  such  weight,  and 
with  so  justly-chosen  words  of  art,  that  one  would 
have  sworn  he  could  himself  skate  and  dance  ;  but, 
alas  !  in  the  midst  of  his  admiration,  he  must  himself 
complain,  that  he  could  as  little  turn  upon  the  ice,  as 
a  ship  of  war.  Perhaps  the  pressure  of  a  lowly  de- 
scent never  weighs  more  heavily  on  the  sensitive, 
than  in  social  festivals,  where  a  penurious  education 
has  not  furnished  one  with  the  arts  of  pleasure,  such 
as  dancing,  riding,  singing,  playing,  and  speaking 
French. 

Five  times  had  Walt  thought  of  his  sheet  of  music, 
and  forgotten  it  again,  as  Wina,  whose  eye  contained 
his  whole  future  life,  flew  past,  and  threw  him  a 
flower-glance,  that  he  continued  to  dream  upon  ever 
after.  At  last,  he  said,  as  the  fair  skater  passed, 
"Both  your  wishes  are  answered."  "I  scarcely 
understand  you,"  §he  said,  again  approaching,  and 
darting  away."  He  went  a  little  from  the  shore,  to 
meet  her  upon  the  ice.  "  How  is  it  with  the  flute- 
music  ?  "  she  asked,  as  she  flew  by  him  again.  "  I 
bear  the  music  and  the  text  with  me,"  he  answered, 
"  and  not  merely  in  my  heart."  "  How  splendid  !  " 
she  answered,  again  turning  away,  and  glancing  a 
look  of  joy. 

Vult  now  flew  towards  them,  with  a  jealous,  ques- 
tioning eye,  saying,  "  Has  she  taken  the  sheet }  " 
"  I  have  indicated  it  to  her  three  times,"  he  an- 
swered, "  but,  very  naturally,  she  will  not  stand 
before  me  in  an  unfeminine  manner  to  receive  it." 

VOL.  II.  17 


258 


WALT  AND  VULT 


Vult  now  drew  out  his  flute,  publicly,  and  said  aloud, 
so  that  all  the  skaters  could  hear  him,  "  Mr.  Har- 
nish,  you  have  my  notes  in  your  pocket ;  I  will  now 
play."  The  other,  in  compliance  with  his  glance, 
rather  than  his  words,  handed  him  the  notes.  Wina 
drew  near.  "  Could  you,"  said  Vult,  giving  it  to 
her,  "  read  them  by  the  light  of  the  moon,  while  I 
play  ?  "  The  unsuspicious  maiden  looked  kindly  at 
him,  and  earnestly  upon  the  sheet,  when  immediately 
the  flute  began.  Upon  the  hair  of  the  thread  of  ac- 
cident, not  like  a  sword,  indeed,  but  like  a  flowery 
wreath,  was  now  suspended  the  whole  new-year's 
morning.  Thus  throb  and  tremble,  upon  the  same 
little  hair,  the  vicissitudes  of  men  ;  sometimes  a 
sword  is  suspended,  sometimes  a  diadem,  which  will 
sooner  or  later  fall  upon  the  devoted  head. 

Wina  looked  long,  and  perused  the  music-notes, 
while  he  suspended  the  flute,  till  at  length  she  un- 
derstood Vult's  plan  and  object,  and  assented  to 
them.  Now  she  flew,  often  as  the  flute  needed, 
to  thank  him  with  glances ;  and  near  the  shore, 
where  Walt  stood,  to  look  her  thanks  to  him,  also  ; 
and  then  joyfully  again  over  the  cold  surface  of  the 
lake  ;  her  wishes  for  her  friend  had  been  so  charm- 
ingly fulfilled,  and  for  the  serenade  nothing  was 
wanting,  but  the  first  night  of  the  year.  The  sounds 
of  the  flute  wandered  around,  and,  like  the  staff*  of 
the  mountaineer,  raised  Walt  from  the  ice  of  earth 
to  the  empyrean  ice  of  heaven.  All  were  blessed, 
particularly  Vult ;  although  Walt  felt  the  music  most 
deeply. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


259 


"  Ah  !  poor  wight !  "  said  Vult,  approaching  him 
with  a  gratified  expression,  "  couldst  thou  not  ad- 
vance me  a  couple  of  double  Louis,  for  the  next  two 
hours  ?  "  "  I,"  asked  Walt :  but  the  other  flew  off, 
and  again  was  heard  the  joy-breathing  flute,  and, 
like,  the  choral  leader  of  the  music  of  the  spheres, 
the  heavenly  orbs  seemed  to  float  before  and  after 
him  upon  the  ice.  If  the  art  of  music  so  powerfully 
penetrates  the  heart  with  its  poetry,  in  the  common 
festivals  of  the  world,  the  soul  is  completely  moved 
by  it  in  the  open  air ;  and  in  a  man  like  Walt,  it 
inspires,  instead  of  earthly  passions,  only  heavenly 
emotions,  such  as  filled  the  shore  with  quiet  thanks- 
givings ;  and,  while  his  songs  of  joy  echoed  around 
the  lake,  the  world  of  his  heart,  as  often  as  the 
sounds  of  the  flute  penetrated  it,  was  created  and 
sanctified  anew.  He  collected  all  the  joys  of  others, 
as  warm  beams,  into  the  burning  point  of  his  con- 
centrated soul.  The  white,  shining  stars  seemed 
suspended,  like  sporting  nightingales,  from  heaven; 
and  the  moon  wove  its  consecrated  beams  together 
into  Wina's  form.  "  This  same  moon,"  he  said  to 
himself,  "  will  stand  as  it  does  now  in  heaven,  on 
the  new-year's  night,  and  I  shall  not  only  hear  the 
flute,  and  my  own  thoughts,  but,  oh  !  listen  to  her 
voice  !  The  stars  of  the  morning  will  gleam  down  ; 
and  I  shall  then  remember,  under  that  future  mu- 
sic, how  great  was  the  joy  of  this  evening  upon  the 
ice  ! " 

He  went  again  upon  the  lake,  or  rather  upon  the 


2G0 


WALT  AND  VÜLT, 


sea  of  ice,  to  be  nearer  the  beloved  ;  she  circled 
around  him  twice,  as  though  to  protect  with  broad 
leaves  his  flower  of  joy,  when  Zablocki's  servants 
approached,  with  information  that  the  carriage  was 
there.  The  proud  lackey  recalled  painfully  to  his 
consciousness  the  rank  of  Wina,  and  his  own  te- 
merity. 

After  the  flight  of  the  three  ladies,  Vult  took  Walt's 
arm  within  his  own.  "  Every  pleasure,"  he  said, 
"  is  a  self-murderer,  and  therefore  good.  Were 
there  ever  a  couple  of  cooler  heads,  than  thou  and  I 
together  ?  For  if  there  be  a  couple  of  miserable 
dogs,  who  have  suffered  three  thirsty  angels  to  hover 
the  whole  evening,  famished,  upon  the  water,  because 
they  could  not  together  furnish  enough  from  the 
pocket,  or  the  room  up  there,  to  place  the  smallest 
refreshment  before  the  angels,  except  the  Uttle  com- 
mon ice  upon  which  they  skated,  they  are  thou  and 
I.  Ah !  had  we  been  only  able,  if  the  weather  had 
been  bad,  and  no  carriage,  to  draw  out  a  phaeton, 
and  harness  even  a  flea  to  it ;  as  I  once  saw  an  artist 
in  Paris,  \vhere  passengers  and  postillion  were  so 
delicately  wrought,  that  all  were  drawn  by  a  flea. 
Tlien^  the  evening  had  been  splendid." 

"  Oh,  truly,  indeed  !  "  said  Walt ;  "  but,  certainly, 
this  evening,  that  lovely  being  thought  as  little  of 
bodily  refreshment,  as  I  did.  Woman  has  one  pain, 
one  joy  ;  man  has  pains  and  joys.  Look  there  ;  my 
words  agree  with  the  words  of  the  tablet,  that  hangs 
on  that  oak." 

"  It  is  a  linden,"  said  Yult. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


261 


"  I  know  plants  only  from  books,"  Walt  answered, 
"  but  there  it  stands  written  :  '  The  delicate  female 
soul  seeks,  like  the  bee,  only  blossoms  and  flowers  ; 
the  coarse  soul,  like  the  wasp,  seeks  only  fruit.'  " 

"  Ja  !  and  beef,  also,  as  the  butcher  knows." 

"  Ah  !  "  continued  Walt,  "  all  were  to-day  so  con- 
tented, and  especially  with  thee.  I  often  tell  thee 
thou  art  a  free,  accomplished,  bold  man  of  the  world  ; 
so  wert  thou  to-day."  And  Walt  commended,  es- 
pecially, his  behavior  towards  Raphaela.  Vult 
thanked  him,  with  a  satirical  remark  upon  the  lady. 
From  time  to  time,  he  gave  vent  to  a  moderate  joke 
against  Raphaela,  to  frighten  his  brother  from  a  dis- 
pleasing communication  of  his  love  for  her. 

In  the  mean  time,  both  sank  quietly  and  deeply 
into  their  own  happiness.  Of  the  shining  present, 
nothing  remained  but  the  heaven  above,  and  the 
heart  beneath.  The  flute-player  measured,  in  imag- 
ination, his  way  to  Wina's  heart,  and  found  himself 
already  half-way  there.  Her  thanks,  her  glance, 
her  approaching  (to  read  the  music),  Raphaela's 
avoidance,  were  sufficient  to  leave  him  the  sweetest 
hope,  and  yet  a  more  intense  longing  for  the  new- 
year's  night,  when,  through  a  stroke  of  enchant- 
ment, he  would  decide  his  fate.  His  desires  were 
yet  stronger  than  his  hopes  ;  but  he  always  thanked 
God,  when  his  feelings  were  inexpressibly  excited ; 
so  much  was  emotion  necessary  to  his  existence. 
But  the  deprivations  and  pains  of  love,  are,  even  in 
themselves,  its  joy  and  fruition ;  asking  no  consola- 


262 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


tion,  but  imparting  it  to  the  soul  ;  like  the  clouds 
about  the  sun,  they  increase  its  light,  and  disperse 
the  clouds  of  the  earth. 

These  poetical  nightingales,  that  sang  in  his  warm, 
perfumed  Eden,  had  a  stunning  effect  upon  Walt ; 
and  the  godlike  stars,  together  with  the  fortunate 
brother,  made  too  strong  an  impression  upon  him. 
It  seemed  to  demand,  that  he  should  no  lono-er 
conceal  from  this,  his  only  friend,  the  holiest  condi- 
tion of  the  heart,  where  the  image  of  Wina  stood, 
like  the  one  solitary  flower  of  heaven,  no  longer 
shrouded  and  concealed  in  its  leaves.  Without 
further  pressure  of  the  hand,  or  glance  of  the  eye, 
he  dismissed  all  prelude,  and  was  about  to  make  the 
bold  confession  of  the  temerity  of  his  aspirations, 
and  to  ask  the  sympathy  of  his  brother.  "  Should 
we  not,"  he  said,  "  expand  the  heart,  like  this  great 
heaven  over  us,  where  all  that  is  little  disappears, 
and  all  that  is  great  is  magnified  ?  "  "  Little  is  mag- 
nified in  my  eyes,"  Vult  answered  ;  "  but  let  us  go 
into  the  shade,  else  I  must  read,  as  I  pass,  all  that 
susceptibility  has  nailed  upon  the  trees  ;  for  as,  upon 
a  nearer  acquaintance,  Raphaela  will  appear  to  me 
in  a  different  light  than  formerly,  still  I  cannot  but 
hate  that  turning  out,  and  exposing  of  inward  emo- 
tion, as  if  man  could  be  reversed  like  a  polypus,  and 
the  inward  become  the  outward.  When  a  lady  be- 
gins a  sentence  with  *  a  beautiful  female  soul,'  I 
willingly  run  from  her.  Hearts,  that  have  so  much 
to  open,  and  present  to  every  one,  are  like  a  prince's 


\ 

OR  THE  TWINS  263 

snuff-box,  and  hoth  contain  the  likeness  of  the  giver, 
not  of  the  receiver.  But  I  appeal  to  thyself,  whether 
thou,  with  thine,  and,  indeed,  our  delicacy,  could  be 
capable  of  making  the  sacred  domain  of  the  heart, 
its  inmost  and  warmest  Africa,  all  known  ;  of  map- 
ping it  out,  and  sketching  of  it  a  land-chart.  Such 
a  course,  brother,  is  knavery  in  love  ;  merely  dishon- 
orable tricks,  birth-day  festivals  of  the  old  Adam  ! 
All  these  are  like  proud  flesh  in  the  heart ;  or  rather, 
I  would  say,  with  the  physician,  mere  extravasations  ; 
or,  with  the  moralist,  mere  extravaganza ;  in  short, 
although  in  the  same  circumstances,  /  should  scarcely 
have  trusted  thee,  thou  canst  confide,  without  injury, 
thy  extravagance  to  me.  Passionate  love,  on  the 
-  contrary, — but  think  of  this  for  future  occasions  —  " 
***** 
Walt  was  silent,  —  laid  himself  in  bed  to  dream, 
and  closed  his  eyes,  that  he  might  again  see  all  that 
made  him  happy. 


No.  59.  Schurschwanzel. 


264 


WALT  AND  VL'LT, 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE  new-year's  NIGHT. 

Upon  the  sweet  fruit,  and  the  roses  that  lingered 
upon  the  sunny  side  of  their  Hfe,  blew  again  the  rough 
air  of  disappointment.  Namely,  Herr  Merkel  sent 
back  their  romance,  with  expressions  of  sincere  con- 
tempt. Walt's  part  was  bearable  ;  but  they  found 
that  of  Vult,  not  only  tasteless  and  insipid,  but 
chanted  too  much  after  the  manner  of  that  cuckoo, 
Jean  Paul,  who  himself,  without  the  aid  of  a  cuckoo- 
clock,  was  wearisome  enough.  * 

Upon  this  result,  the  romance  was  sent  to  Herr 
Trattner,  in  Vienna ;  "  for  this,"  said  Vult,  "  they 
needed  only  half  franking."  "  I  shall  thank  God  as 
soon  as  I  can  hope,"  said  "Walt.  The  new  sheets 
were  added  to  the  old.  The  bookseller,  Passvogel, 
persevered  in  sending  only  one  proof-sheet  every 
week,  and  consequently  this  proof-correcting  duty  of 
the  inheritance  was  uncommonly  protracted.  Walt, 
indeed,  left  no  new  faults,  but  yet  numberless  of  the 


*  Here  follows  an  ironical  critique  of  Vuh's  upon  the  Review- 
er, which,  as  it  has  merely  a  local  interest,  is  omitted. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


265 


old,  except  in  the  letter  W,  with  that,  his  welfare 
and  his  woe  had  begun ! 

Without  love,  the  double  life  of  the  brothers  had 
fallen  into  the  wearisomeness  and  stagnation  of  death. 
This  love  is  the  architect  of  necessity,  and  builds 
castles  in  the  air,  as  lofty  as  it  is  possible  to  make 
them  habitable.  Youth  endures  nothing  more  easily 
than  poverty,  (as  age  nothing  more  readily  than  rich- 
es,) if  only  a  love,  either  of  a  heart,  or  of  a  science, 
illuminate  artistically  their  dark  present ;  and  make 
them  as  happy  in  this  artificial  day,  as  if  it  were  the 
true  light  of  the  sun,  as  birds  will  sing  as  cheerily 
before  the  lights  of  night  shine  out,  as  they  do  before 
the  light  of  morning. 

Vult  was  now  resolved,  that  on  new-year's  night, 
flute  in  hand,  he  would  effect  his  landing  upon  the 
heart  of  Wina.  His  hopes  were  founded  upon  the 
thought,  that,  from  a  union  of  employment  would 
easily  arise  a  union  of  hearts.  "  Enough,"  he  said, 
"  if  in  leading  out  a  two-voiced  composition,  we  can- 
not become  one-voiced,  I  err  indeed."  Walt,  on  the 
contrary,  formed  no  other  plan  of  conquest,  than  to 
steal  glances  at  Wina ;  to  weep  for  joy  ;  to  draw  yet 
nearer  to  her;  and,  if  God  presented  him  in  the 
darkness  the  opportunity,  the  joy,  to  kiss  her  hand, 
and  to  say  some  hasty  words  to  her  —  it  was 
enough  ! 

Thus  came  and  passed  the  Christmas,  without  the 
rising,  as  usual,  of  the  phoenix  of  the  night  from  the 
ashes  of  childhood  ;  for  the  approaching  new-year's 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


uighc  extinguished  its  splendor;  aud  this  at  last  came 
on,  wiih  the  evening  aurora,  tlmt  belonged  to  the  de- 
parting year.  Yet,  in  this  very  evening,  by  the  shim- 
mering of  Hesjverus.  or  some  other  su\r,  Vult  cursed 
bis  fete  again,  that  with  so  feir  an  opportunity  pre- 
sented to  him,  he  had  no  money  wherewith  to  play 
the  mail  of  the  world  in  the  presence  of  the  ladies. 
"  I  would  I  had  joined  the  beggarly  order  of  bad 
musicians,  who  wander  around  on  new-year's  night ; 
I  had  at  least  begged  enough  to  make  them  rich." 
About  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  as  Eugelberta  in 
the  great  yellow  hall,  had  furnished  him  with  the 
desired  funds,  *  he  went  joyfully  in  the  evening  to 
the  wine-house,  where  the  day  before,  as  an  old 
friend  of  the  hoi]^,  (it  cost  him  only  the  clasps  of 
his  pantaloons,)  he  had  had  the  cork  drawn  from  a 
bottle  of  champaigne,  and  the  wine  placed  on  the 
ice ;  in  order,  as  he  said  to  Walt.  "  to  hang  the  ruins 
of  their  de^s  life  with  a  little  tapestry." 

It  took  Walt  half  an  hour  to  understand  that  the 
spirit  of  the  wine  would  not  evaporate  from  the  open 
bottle.  They  drank.  — All  the  resourses  they  pos- 
sessed followed  from  each,  yet  like  electrical  clouds, 
charged  with  positive  and  negative  power,  they 
lightened  at  each  other ;  Walt  with  playful  and  witty 
cooceits ;  Vult  with  serious  fancies.    Were  a  flower- 


*As  EIiig\''r-:rta  irae\r  s^criiM  of  :he  serenade,  iliis  masi 
bare  be^n  a?aip>en.sa:io{i  lot  Volt  s  niosic,  as  he  was  loo  proud  to 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


267 


wreath  formed  of  their  conversation,  the  colors  would 
be  as  variegated  as  the  following  specimen  :  — 

"  In  seizing  his  moments  of  happiness,  man  has  as 
htlle  time  as  the  pearl-diver;  perhaps  two  minutes 
only,  to  seize  his  prize."  "  Many  of  the  institutions 
of  government  kindle  destructive  fires,  merely  that 
the  water-engines  that  extinguish  them  may  be  thaw- 
ed out."  *'  We  climb  the  green  mountains  of  life, 
only  to  die  upon  an  iceberg  above."  Every  one  is 
at  least  in  one  thing,  against  his  will,  original;  in  his 
manner  of  sneezing."  "  Most  people  secretly  be- 
lieve, that  God  has  existed,  merely  that  they  might 
be  created  ;  and  that  through  the  pervading  ether, 
their  part  of  the  world  is  a  peninsula,  stretching  into 
a  sea  of  vapor,  or  an  isthmus,  connecting  them  with 
heaven."  "  Each,  to  the  other,  is  at  the  same  time 
sun  and  sun-flower,  he  turns  and  is  turned."  —  And 
so  on  —  only  what  followed  was  less  connected,  and 
far  more  animated  ;  till  at  last,  the  death-bell  of  the 
year  was  heard  to  strike,  and  the  invisible  moon 
wrote  itself  anew,  with  a  clear  silver  line  in  the  hea- 
ven. Their  glasses  were  now  as  empty  as  the  year, 
and  they  both  wandered  into  the  street,  where  it  was 
as  light  as  in  the  day. 

Everywhere,  friends,  who  came  forth  from  festi- 
vals of  joy,  cried  new-year's  greetings  to  each  other, 
in  which  were  lying  enfolded,  all  the  morning  and 
evening  greetings  of  the  coming  year.  Upon  the 
steps  of  the  tower,  they  very  distinctly  saw  the 
announcer  of  the  new  year,  with  his  trumpet.  Walt 


268 


WALT  AND  VÜLT, 


imagined  himself  at  that  height,  and  it  seemed  to 
his  imagination,  that  he  saw  the  coming  year,  slowly- 
ascending  from  the  horizon,  like  a  monstrous  cloud, 
full  of  struggling  forms,  and  the  tones  of  the  trumpet 
named  those  forms,  by  the  names  of  the  future  hours. 
The  stars  seemed  to  stand  as  sentinels,  to  announce 
that  eternal  mornins;  in  heaven,  that  should  no  longer 
know  either  morning  or  evening  ;  but  men  looked 
up,  and  gave  to  all  that  was  above  them,  their  own 
hasty  mutations,  their  passing  hours,  and  their  death- 
bells.  Under  these  feelings,  the  beloved  appeared  to 
Walt,  like  a  consecrated  form,  crowned  with  a  dia- 
dem of  stars,  and  the  glory  of  heaven  revealed  to 
him  more  clearly  her  large  liquid  eye,  and  her  tender 
rose-lips.  Not^  as  had  been  formerly  the  case,  did 
the  old  year,  that  died  at  the  birth  of  the  new,  reveal 
to  him  the  transgressions  of  his  life  ;  love  had  chang- 
ed all  into  splendor,  even  tears  and  the  grave  ;  and 
before  him,  life,  like  the  declining  sun  of  the  longest 
day  of  the  north  sea,  touched  only,  with  its  rim,  the 
passing  earth,  and  rose  again,  like  morning,  in  the 
arch  of  heaven. 

Both  friends  went  arm  in  arm,  at  last,  hand  in 
hand,  through  the  streets.  Walt's  short  vivacity  had 
softened  into  deep  feeling.  He  looked  often  around 
into  Vult's  face,  "  We  must  remain  through  life,  as 
now,  united,"  he  said.  Vult  pressed  his  hand  quick- 
ly on  the  other's  mouth.  "  Hush,"  he  said,  "  the 
devil  hears!"  "And  God,  also,"  answered  Walt, 
and  continued,  in  a  low  voice,  blushing  deeply,  and 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


269 


turning  away.  "  In  such  a  night,  should  we  not 
once,  to  each  other,  pronounce  the  word  Beloved  !  " 
"  How  ? "  said  Vuh,  blushing,  "  that  were  too  fool- 
ish"  

After  a  long  enjoyment  of  their  happy  anticipa- 
tions, they  at  last  saw  Wina,  like  a  white  blossom, 
and  Engelberta  with  her,  slip  into  the  summer- 
house. 

With  warm  hopes  of  executing  his  plan,  of  declar- 
ing his  love  to  Wina,  and  as  happy  as  an  astrono- 
mer, to  whom  the  whole  heaven  has  revealed  itself, 
ere  the  rising  moon  shrouds  the  stars  in  total  dark- 
ness, Vult  sought  the  ear  of  his  brother,  and  repre- 
sented to  him,  that  if  he  listened  at  some  distance, 
that  is,  far  beneath  in  the  park,  the  music  would  be 
much  finer.  "  If  you  peep  over  my  shoulder,"  he 
said,  "  it  will  be  as  if  you  yourself  blew  with  me 
into  the  holes  of  the  flute  ;  by  which  nothing  could 
be  gained,  and  the  heroine  of  the  music-festival 
would  be  in  a  situation  as  though  two  persons  were 
performing  in  the  room,  near  her  bed — this  needs  to 
be  considered,  my  Walt !  "  "  If  you  desire  it,  I  will 
not  go  in  with  you,"  said  the  other,  and  turned  into 
the  cold  garden,  where  the  blinding  snow  was  as  well 
starred  as  the  deep  ether. 

But  above  (in  the  summer-house)  it  was  arranged 
against  Vult's  expectations,  although  not  against  his 
wishes.  Engelberta  assured  him  that  her  sister  knew 
the  flute  and  voice  so  well,  that  she  would  awake  at 
the  sound  of  the  first  note,  and  thus  spoil  all ;  there- 


270 


WALT  AND  VT7LT, 


lore  me  music  niusi  begin  ai  a  great  distance,  and 
increase  as  it  drew  nearer.  '*  Good  —  it  will  be  best 
in  the  park,"  said  Wina,  and  hastened  down.  Upon 
the  steps  behind,  close  to  her  ear,  Vuli  hastily  ex- 
plained to  her  all  tlie  musical  points  of  concert,  that 
in  the  solitary  paths  of  the  park,  he  might  have 
nodiing  to  think  of  but  his  own  conquesu  To 
his  great  consternation,  the  notar}*,  with  his  cheerful 
expression,  appeared  upon  the  principal  path,  pro- 
posing to  himself  and  the  others,  to  accompany,  or 
to  follow  them.  Wina  gave  him  a  joyful  "  good 
morning,-'  and  afterwards,  a  new-year's  greeting, 
and  the  question,  **  does  not  all  go  on  delightfully  ?  " 
"  Sffl,  5fa,  Viatoj\^  cried  Vult,  and  whiked  him 
violently  back,  and  to  remain  quiet,  Walt  remained, 
as  he  desired,  "  because,'"  as  he  said  to  himself,  "  I 
know  not  what  reason  they  may  have." 

"  A  true  man,  and  atender  poet,"  Vult  began,  as 
they  passed.  "  His  poems  are  heavenly,"  she  an- 
swered. "And  yet  you  have  not  separated  us  as 
authors  ?  he  asked  hastily,  for  at  this  moment,  to 
secure  an  etemit],-  of  bliss,  he  thought  nothing  failed 
him,  but  time.  "Such  an  error  requires  not  the 
smallest  pardon,  but  rather  gratitude ;  I  think  rather 
of  another,  but  truer  resemblance  —  "  (Wina  looked 
sharply  at  him)  —  "  we  have  a  mutual  confidence  to 
make ;  as  it  were  tw  in  secrets  in  life,  that  I  could 
impart  to  no  human  being — except  to  yourself — 
for  I  trust "  —  "I  wish  to  know  nothing  that  your 
friend  does  not  willingly  unfold,"  she  inter^rosed. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


271 


He  turned  suddenly  towards  a  linden  tree  (for  the 
introductory  conversation  had  taken  much  too  long  a 
digression),  and  read  the  inscription  placed  there  by 
Raphaela  :  "  Here,  in  the  nnoonbeams,  is  the  hum 
of  bees  among  thy  leaves,  as  they  suck  honey  from 
thy  blossoms.  Thou  already  slumberest,  my  friend  ! 
while  I  rest  here,  and  think  of  thee.  Dost  thou 
dream  who  loves  thee  ?  " 

"  Let  us  hasten,"  she  said  ;  "  but  how  expres- 
sively is  your  eye  again  fixed."  "  I  take  gladly,"  he 
said,  "  all  that  belongs  to  love,  especially  the  poi- 
soned arrow,  all  but  the  bandage.  Revered  Wina! 
you  alone  I  always  see  !  Do  I  win  ?  Ah !  I 
know  not;  you  alone  can  tell.  Beautifully,"  he 
continued,  "  has  the  poet  woven  that  line  in  your 
song  :  '  Dreamest  thou  who  loves  thee  ? '  "  and,  turn- 
ing half-round,  he  sang  the  line  softly,  that  he  had 
apparently  placed  in  the  song  for  this  purpose,  while 
glances  of  love  flashed  from  his  dark  eyes.  As 
Wina  was  silent,  and  hastened  more  quickly  on,  he 
took  the  hand  which  she  allowed  him  to  hold,  and 
said,  "  Wina,  your  kind  heart  has  understood  mine. 
To  you,  for  you  are  not  too  proud  to  listen  to  me,  I 
will  appear,  not  as  I  do  to  the  multitude,  but  as  I 
am.  I  have  nothing  but  my  heart  and  my  life  ;  but 
both  are  consecrated  to  the  best  of  human  beings." 
"  There^  my  friend  !  "  she  said  gently,  and  drew  him 
hastily  to  the  spot  where  they  were  to  begin  their 
music.  She  stood  still,  and  took  his  other  hand  in 
hers,  and  raised  her  eyes,  full  of  infinite  tenderness, 


272 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


to  his ;  while  upon  her  celestial  countenance  all  her 
thoughts  stood  transparent  as  the  dew-drop  upon  the 
flower.  "  Good  youth,"  she  said,  "  I  am  as  open, 
as  sincere  as  yourself,  and,  by  this  sacred  heaven 
above  us,  I  would  openly  and  joyfully  acknowledge 
it,  if  I  loved  you  in  the  sense  that  you  probably  mean. 
Were  it  so,  I  would,  indeed,  acknowledge  it  boldly, 
from  true  esteem  for  you.  But  noio  you  have  pained 
me  much.  You  have  disturbed  my  morning,  and  I 
shall  scarcely  give  my  friend  the  joy  I  intended." 

Ere  she  had  done  speaking,  Vult  had  drawn  out 
his  flute.  He  put  it  together,  and  gave  her  only  one 
glance^  a  silent  hint  to  begin.  She  began  to  sing 
with  an  embarrassed  voice,  but  soon  it  became  strong, 
and  afterwards  rose  to  its  usual  power. 

In  the  mean  time,  Walt  had  penetrated  the  princi- 
pal passages  through  which  he  saw  them,  as  they 
passed  from  the  shadow  into  the  beams  of  the  moon. 
At  last,  he  heard  his  own  words  in  the  beautiful 
song,  greeting  the  slumberer,  and  in  the  distant  twi- 
light perceived  his  own  heart  transfused  into  the 
breast  of  another,  as  they  sang  the  words,  "  Awake 
gladly,  beloved  !  "  to  the  poor  sleeper  above,  upon 
whom  Ae,  at  least,  had  hitherto  expended  no  thought. 
To  excuse  himself,  he  looked,  with  sincere  good 
washes,  up  at  her  window,  and  wished  her  all  that 
life  and  love  could  present  to  her  of  happiness,  in  the 
midst  of  the  deep  regret  she  must  feel  at  the  absence 
of  Flitt. 

At  this  moment,  he  heard  the  voice  of  Engel- 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


273 


berta,  who  called  to  him,  that  he  might,  if  he  pre- 
ferred it,  come  into  the  house.  The  attention,  at 
this  time,  only  disturbed  him ;  but  he  approached 
nearer,  and  entered  the  rotunda,  already  mentioned, 
where  nothing  was  visible  but  the  deep  blue  of  the 
sky,  with  the  penetrating  moonbeams,  and  he  heard 
only  the  distant,  lovely  melody  from  the  beautiful 
lips  of  Wina. 

They  approached.  The  melodious  leader  of  the 
birth -day  festival  drew  nearer  and  nearer,  with 
stronger  tones  ;  Vult  behind  her,  that  the  hot  tears 
of  displeasure  and  pride,  which,  with  the  flute  at  his 
lips  he  could  not  dry,  might  be  revealed  to  none  but 
the  night.  When  she  was  near,  Engelberta  directed 
Wina's  attention  to  her  sister's  sleeping-chamber, 
and  to  the  rotunda.  She  followed  the  last  hint,  think- 
ing she  must  conceal  herself,  and  continue  the  sere- 
nade till  the  awakened  friend  should  find  her  there. 

Here  was  Walt,  with  his  eyes  upon  the  moon,  his 
spirit  in  the  distant  ether,  but  ravished  and  beside 
himself  at  the  near  sound  of  her  voice,  and  the  dis- 
tant melody  of  the  flute.  No  one  understands  the 
music  of  our  souls  but  God.  Like  the  deaf  and 
dumb  pupils  of  Heinecke,*  we  make  words,  and  un- 
derstand not  ourselves  what  we  say.  Wina  must 
continue  to  sing,  and  address  him  only  through  the 
greeting  of  a  lovely  English  smile.f 

*  The  teacher  of  the  dumb  to  speak  with  articulated  sounds, 
t  Jean  Paul  often  expresses  his  admiration  of  the  frank  English 
smile. 

VOL.  II.  18 


274 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


That  which  he  also  dared  not  say,  he  smiled  ;  a 
smile  radiating  in  love  and  joy.  But  when  she  sang 
that  beautifully  melodious  line,  "  Dreamest  thou  who 
loves  thee  ?  "  and  then  softly  repeated  the  heavenly 
sounds  close  to  his  breast,  he  sank  upon  his  knees, 
unconscious  whether  to  pray  or  love ;  and  as  he 
looked  up  to  her,  clothed  as  she  was  with  the  moon- 
beams, she  seemed  a  Madonna  descending  from 
above,  environed  with  the  splendor  of  heaven.  Gen- 
tly, she  laid  her  right  hand  upon  the  waving  curls  of 
his  head ;  he  raised  both  his  own,  and  pressed  it 
upon  his  brow.  Emotion  will  dissolve  the  gentlest 
spirit  in  the  flame  of  joy,  as  the  most  delicate  flower 
in  the  voluptuous  summer's-night  throws  out  the  elec- 
tric spark  ;  tears  and  sighs  of  joy,  the  music  and  the 
stars,  heaven  and  earth,  were  mingled  together  in 
one  sea  of  ether,  and,  without  consciousness,  he  held 
Wina's  left  hand  pressed  upon  his  beating  heart,  and 
the  song  seemed  to  come  to  him  from  afar  off,  as  to 
one  awaking  from  a  swoon. 

The  flute  came  nearer,  and  the  last  word  was 
sung.  Wina  drew  him  gently  from  the  earth ;  but 
the  sounds  were  still  repeated  in  his  ears,  when  Ra- 
phaela burst  in,  with  joyful  impatience,  to  throw 
herself  upon  the  breast  of  the  authoress  of  this  de- 
lightful morning.  Gottwalt  was  alarmed  ;  but  Wina, 
perfectly  calm,  received  her  friend  with  entire  self- 
possession,  and  said  to  Walt,  who  could  not  speak, 
"  We  shall  see  each  other  again  on  Monday  eve- 
ning."   "  Yes,  by  heaven  !  "  he  answered,  without 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


275 


knowing  how,  or  where.  Vult  entered  at  this  mo- 
ment, and  received  the  loud  expression  of  Raphaela's 
gratitude  ;  he  bowed  silently,  and  with  Walt  departed 
from  the  garden. 

As  soon  as  they  were  in  their  chamber,  the  latter 
threw  himself  upon  his  neck.  Vult  took  it  for  the 
expression  of  his  joy  and  gratitude,  at  the  success 
of  Raphaela's  birth-day  festival,  and  pressed  him 
once  to  his  heart.  Oh !  let  me  speak,  brother," 
Walt  began.  "  Oh  !  let  me  sleep,"  Vult  answered  ; 
"  deep,  dark  sleep  ;  that  sinks  from  darkness  to 
darkness.  Oh,  brother!  is  not  that  profound  sleep  a 
blessed,  wide  lake,  for  us  amphibious  animals,  who 
come  weary  from  the  sultry  land,  to  float  or  sink  into 
the  cool,  dark,  profound  depths  of  its  waters  ?  But 
you  deny  all  this,  and  more  also."  "  Ah  !  God  give 
thee  dreams,  and  the  most  heavenly  that  ever  visit 
sleep  !  "  said  Walt. 

No.  60.  Blende.   A  mineral  that  contains  no  ore. 


276 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

PRELIMINARY  ARRA^'GE3IE^•TS. 

Walt  had  now  in  his  flower-crowned  head  nothing 
else  than  the  Monday  in  which  he  should  again 
see  Wina ;  although  he  knew  not  where.  After 
some  days,  Raphaela  informed  him,  through  Flora, 
that,  on  account  of  the  court-morning,  the  masque- 
rade of  Monday,  would  be  postponed.  He  startled 
the  maid,  by  asking,  "  How  7  it  was  a  masquerade, 
then  ?  "  but  afterwards,  when  Vult  clapped  him  upon 
the  shoulder,  and  remarked,  that  probably  Engelberta 
had  planned  the  message,  and  suffered  it,  delicately, 
to  come  through  the  sister,  a  light  arose,  yes,  a  star, 
upon  Wina's  "  Monday.'^''  The  chambers  of  his 
brain  became  four  halls  for  masks,  and  he  swore 
he  would  pinch  himself,  even  if  he  should  starve, 
till  he  had  collected  enough  money  to  enter,  for  the 
first  time  in  his  life,  and  take  part  in  a  masked  ball. 
"  Could  I  once  have  a  mask,"  he  thought,  "  I  could 
meet  her  in  a  blissful  dance,  or  lead  her  aside,  and 
neither  ask,  nor  see  any  thing  else."  How  gently 
had  it  touched  and  warmed  his  heart,  could  he  have 
pressed  his  twin-brother  to  his  breast,  and  revealed 
his  secret  to  him  !  but  now  it  was  impossible.  Sor- 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


277 


row,  and  the  refusal  of  his  love,  had  cut  Wina's 
image  too  deeply  into  that  hard,  but  precious  stone, 
his  heart ;  this^  he  could  not  bear !  he  would  himself 
efface,  and  obliterate  it  from  the  jewel,  so  that  no- 
thing could  there  be  read  ;  not  for  love,  but  for  honor, 
could  he  die  !  Not  to  quiet  the  longing  of  desire, 
but  for  revenge,  could  he  destroy  himself! 

In  these  circumstances,  it  was  difficult  for  anyone, 
except  Walt,  to  endure  him ;  every  thing  ;  the  present, 
and  the  absent,  all  displeased  him.  He  cursed  the 
lodgings,  and  the  city  ;  the  first  delicately,  the  latter 
without  reserve.  It  was  aschaloop  to  a  ship  of  fools  ; 
a  lodge,  full  of  extinguished,  smoking,  study  lamps  ; 
a  charnel-house  of  the  beheaded !  a  Golgotha,  the 
place  of  skulls  !  It  was  a  residence  for  animals,  with 
a  market  for  cattle,  and  a  bear-garden.  Walt  endur- 
ed the  pouring  out  of  his  wrath  upon  the  city,  and 
upon  himself,  as  though  his  brother  would  say  to  him, 
"  it  is  upon  thy  account,  that  I  sit  in  this  vile  nest." 
"  Ah,  that  thou  wert  happier,  Vult,"  he  said  once, 
but  nothing  more.  "  What  then,  hast  thou  heard  of 
me.?"  asked  the  other,  angrily.  —  "Only  the  for- 
mer," said  Walt,  and  gave  the  other  the  suspicion 
that  he  was  acquainted  with  the  failure  of  his  decla- 
ration of  love. 

From  the  splendid  divided  chamber,  with  the  ar- 
cadian prospect,  as  well  as  from  the  painted  stage 
curtain,  all  the  former  glory  had  now  faded  away. 

If  his  writing,  or  his  flute-playing  was  interrupted  ; 
if,  in  bad  weather,  a  passing  child  substituted  the 


278 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


trumpet  for  his  dwarf  drum,  or  if  the  neighboring 
butcher,  from  time  to  time,  pierced  the  throat  of  a 
swine,  that  shrieked  when  he  was  playing,  Walt,  in 
his  eyes,  was  guilty  of  the  interruption  ;  or  when, 
at  night,  the  watchman  sant  so  abominably,  that 
many  times  he  threw  him  cyirses  and  reproaches 
across  the  park,  in  the  moonlight,  Walt  was  to 
blame. 

The  mild  warmth  of  the  invariably  loving  Walt, 
seemed  only  to  make  him  more  morose ;  "  I  also," 
he  said,  "  could  be  a  lamb  of  Heaven,  a  Madonna, 
a  young  John,  if  I  had  only  that,  for  which  he  main- 
tains this  grace." 

But  Walt  thought  only  of  the  masked  ball,  and  the 
means  to  attain  an  entrance  to  it.  "  Oh,  had  my 
brother  only  a  beloved,  how  easy  and  blessed  should 
we  be  ;  we  would  unite  our  hearts,  and  whoever  he 
loved,  should  be  also  beloved  by  me.  Ah,  it  is  easy 
to  forgive  him  all,  when  I  imagine  myself  in  his  dark 
circumstances."  * 

At  this  moment,  as  though  by  accident,  tickets  for 
a  dress  lottery  were  thrown  into  their  chamber.  Both 
desired  to  go  to  the  masquerade,  and  as  Walt  requir- 
ed a  dress  from  this  depository  of  masks,  and  Vult 
no  less,  they  each  took  a  ticket,  with  the  hope  of  at 
least  drawing  a  disguise. 


*  But  Walt  did  not  know  that  he  had  ventured  to  declare  his 
love,  and  had  been  rejected  by  Wina.  He  excused  him  because 
he  thought  he  did  not  love. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


279 


They  scraped  together  their  money,  with  many 
curses  from  Vult  at  their  destitution.  While  they  were 
waiting  for  the  result,  he  said,  "  I  cannot  tell  you  how 
much  I  wish  we  were  like  the  Dahomets,  in  Upper 
Guinea,  where  no  one,  except  the  king,  wears  stock- 
ings ;  or  that  it  was  now,  as  under  the  reign  of  Charles 
the  Seventh  of  France,  when  in  the  whole  land  no 
one  possessed  a  change  of  linen,  except  his  wife." 

"  Wherefore  ?  "  asked  Walt.  "  Ah,  then  we  could 
be  excused  by  those  of  our  own  rank,"  he  answered, 
and  as  he  considered  his  brother  the  cause  of  their 
poverty,  he  poured  out  his  wrath  upon  him. 

"  Poverty,"  Walt  answered,  "  is  the  mother  of 
hope.  Let  the  beautiful  daughter  accompany  us, 
and  you  will  not  perceive  the  hateful  mother.  But  I 
will  gladly  be  thy  Cymon  of  Cyrenia,  and  help  thee 
to  bear  thy  cross."  '•'  Ah,  yes,"  he  answered,  "  bear 
it  to  the  mountain,  where  they  will  crucify  me." 
"  Love  knows  no  poverty,  either  for  itself,  or  anoth- 
er," Walt  answered. 

At  length,  the  dress  lottery,  upon  which,  merely 
from  the  length  of  time,  they  had  accustomed  them- 
selves to  place  the  greatest  and  brightest  hopes,  com- 
menced drawing.  Walt  gained  for  his  No.  515, 
nearly  a  complete  oilskin  suit,  as  a  protection  from 
gout,  so  that  it  would  be  useful,  let  the  gout  travel 
into  whichever  limb  it  would.  Vult's  No.  11000 
had  drawn  a  tolerable  wagoner's  blue  frock.  At  the 
same  moment,  the  post-runner  brought  in  again  their 
Romance,  the  Hoppel-poppel,  returned  by  the  book- 


280 


WALT  AKD  VULT, 


seller,  Peter  Hammer,  in  Cologne,  with  many  honest 
commendations,  that  Herr  Hammer  had  suffered  to 
escape,  after  having  received  the  manuscript  from 
Mr.  Von  Trattner,  with  the  cold  excuse  that  he  rarely- 
printed  anything  that  had  not  already  been  printed. 
Upon  the  envelope,  had  the  worthy  Cologne  post- 
master merely  remarked,  that  in  all  Cologne  there 
was  no  Peter  Hammer's  book-store,  and  that  the 
name  was  a  pure  invention. 

Vult  had  now  the  best  excuse  for  asking,  if  in 
these  eternal  shocks  of  life,  all  the  floods  of  hell  had 
not  been  opened  to  pour  out  flames  and  ice  for  him 
alone  ?  or  to  assert,  that  even  had  he  the  opportunity, 
a  rain-bow  might  as  easily  be  formed  upon  a  cloud 
of  locusts,  as  poetry  produced  under  such  circumstan- 
ces as  his ;  and  even  now,  had  he  not  passed  from  a 
smart  shower,  to  fall  under  the  flood  of  a  waterfall  ? 

At  this  moment  the  Alsatian  appeared,  and,  after 
thanking  both  the  brothers  for  their  birth-day  labors, 
he  mentioned  his  commission  from  Raphaela,  who 
had  sent  Walt  a  complete  mountaineer's  dress  of 
her  father's,  for  the  masked  ball,  which  he  had 
sometimes,  God  be  praised,  worn  in  his  mining 
excursions.  After  Flitt's  congratulations,  and  Walt's 
gratitude,  they  mutually  exchanged  the  expression 
of  their  emotions,  and  with  so  much  good-will  to- 
wards each  other,  that  if  Walt  was  not  the  most 
complete  coxcomb  upon  the  firm  earth,  Raphaela 
must  have  been,  throughout,  the  beloved  of  the  Al- 
satian—  thus  at  once,  fell  the  thick  mist  from  Vult's 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


281 


eyes.  "  God  confound  him,"  he  said  to  himself, 
"he  loves  Wina!  and  she? — she  indeed  —  loves 
him  !  "  All  his  wild  emotions  seized  upon  him  now 
with  double  power ;  yet  resolutely  concealed,  ex- 
cept in  his  journal.  "  So  false,  so  secret,  so  bold  ! 
and  so  madly  ambitious,  could  I  not  have  believed 
the  simpleton,"  he  wrote,  while  thus  his  self-com- 
munion went  on.  "  By  heaven,  I  know  what  I  will 
do.  Oh,  right  well !  were  I  only  wholly  certain  !  —  At 
the  masked  ball,  I  also  will  mask.  —  The  plan  will 
be  easy  ;  or  the  evil  one  will  take  part  in  it.  —  In  the 
first  place,  I  will  allow  proofs  of  my  friendship  for 
him,  to  be  clearly  revealed  —  even  to  herself.  Hea- 
vens !  if  her  rejection  of  my  love  upon  that  stupid 
new-year's  night,  have  led  to  his  happiness !  I  did 

much  for  him,  mdeed  !  "  "  Oh,  dear  Vult!  be, 

only  this  once,  even  on  thy  own  account,  less  violent, 
and  quieter.  Conceal  thy  face,  and  thy  means  of 
reproach,  only  until  to-morrow  night  ! " 

Vult's  recent  error  easily  excused  the  remark,  that 
the  same  facility  with  which  one  imagines  himself  to 
be  beloved,  makes  one  also  believe  that  another  is 
beloved. 

But  to  keep  his  promise  of  peace,  and  to  stand 
cold  and  firm  upon  the  hot  lava  upon  which  he  must 
continue  to  move,  he  began  to  talk  of  indifferent 
things,  and  told  Flitt  that  he  and  Walt  were  now  the 
best  friends.  He  earnestly  advised  the  notary  to 
appear  at  the  ball,  enclosed  in  the  gouty  oil-cloth. 


283 


WALT  AND  TTLT, 


Walt,  however,  imagined  in  üiis  irony,  only  an  extra- 
ordinary disguise,  that  was  w  holly  unexpected. 
*  *  *  «  * 

"  But,  joking  aside,"  he  continued,  **  let  us  speak 
rather  of  love,  ihat  wili  not  fail  :o  appear  at  a  masked 
hall.  I  shall  forever  believe  that  it  endures  long  — 
longer  than  people  will  admit  —  for  I  kuow  not  why 
a  lover  that  is  assured  of  his  own  love  —  even  if  he 
has  promised  nothing,  should  not  suder  his  heart  to 
bum  as  long  as  that  mine  of  hard  coal  by  Zwicau, 
which  has  now  been  on  fire  a  century."  Vice 
ramawr  /  "  cried  Flitt. 

Vult  told  them  that  Jacobine,  the  actress,  had 
arrived.  ^'  She  will  also  play  her  pan  at  the  ball, 
and  you  wiU  play,  neither  her  first,  nor  her  last 
lover,  Walt.  They  are  the  devil's  children  —  wo- 
men ;  —  do  they  appear  bad  —  they  are  so  —  do 
they  not  appear  so  —  they  are  yet  the  same. — 
Nevertheless,  I  would  confront  the  prudes  with  the 
Jacobines,  who  spread  their  celestial  blue  nets 
through  the  ether,  for  simpletons  like  you,  Walt !  " 
Walt  asked,  "  how  then  should  a  poor  beauty  act,  if 
neither  seeming  nor  be'mg  were  of  use  to  her  ? 
It  could  be  but  a  certain  imprisonment  in  a  net, 
thrown  over  a  cherry-tree  full  of  sweet  fruit,  not 
only  to  imprison,  but  to  keep  the  starling  in  perpetual 
captivity."  But  Yult's  tongue,  unlike  that  of  the 
lion,  spared  never  a  woman. 

Walt  bore  willingly,  in  silence,  the  complaints  of 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


283 


the  impoverished  brother.  Vult  had  turned  the  day- 
light of  life  into  night ;  and  in  this  dark  shadow  he 
must  suffer  cold,  and,  like  other  plants,  breathe  out 
poisoned  air.  On  the  contrary,  love  itself  turns 
towards  the  celestial  sphere,  and,  like  the  terrestial, 
always  meets  the  rising  stars.  Like  a  sailor  upon  a 
wind-calmed  sea,  it  beholds  no  earth  —  but  only 
heaven.  Heaven  opens  above.  Heaven  opens  be- 
neath, and  the  water  that  bears  it  up,  is  merelya 
paler  heaven. 

As  Vult  and  Flitt  went  forth  together,  Walt  thought 
within  himself,  "  I  have  made  him  more  peaceful. 
He  appears,  indeed,  to  be  reconciled  with  the  Alsa- 
tian." 


No.  61.    Lapis  Suillus, 


284 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE  MASKED-BALL. 

V  "  We  shall  see  each  other  this  evening,"  said  Vult 
to  his  brother,  when,  under  the  veil  of  this  friendly- 
greeting,  he  left  him  on  the  morning  of  the  masque- 
rade. The  day  shone  too  brightly  for  Walt  in  his 
solitude  ;  a  day,  which  consisted  only  of  the  beauti- 
ful night  to  which  it  led  ;  and  at  dinner  he  longed  for 
his  brother.  He  knew  not  under  what  form  he 
should  meet  him  in  the  evening,  and  his  empty  apart- 
ment seemed  to  have  lost  forever  his  own. 

Walt  went  into  a  magazine  of  masks,  and  sought 
long  for  one  which  represented  the  face  of  Apollo  or 
Jupiter ;  he  did  not  understand,  he  said,  why  they 
should  be  hatefully  ugly.  Vult  had  advised  him  to 
enter  the  full  hall  about  eleven  o'clock;  thus,  in 
making  his  toilette  very  slowly,  he  drew  from  every 
piece  of  his  disguise,  as  from  a  flower-cup,  his 
dream  of  honey.  Dressing  at  the  usual  time  of  un- 
dressing; the  universal  animation  and  noise  in  the 
street,  as  well  as  in  the  houses ;  and  especially  the 
thought,  that  he  was  himself  to  take  a  part  in  this 
great  carnival,  colored  the  future  with  the  most  ro- 
mantic dreams.     How  different  is  the  roll  of  the 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


285 


carriage  when  it  takes  us  to  happiness,  than  when, 
under  the  night-cap,  and  beneath  the  bed-curtain,  it 
reaches  the  wakeful  ear. 

When  he  left  his  chamber,  he  felt  like  a  hero 
thirsting  for  glory,  who  draws  his  sword  for  the  first 
time,  and  he  besought  God  that  he  might  return  as 
joyfully  as  he  departed.  He  bore  himself  like  a 
sedan-chair  through  the  street,  and  could  scarcely 
believe,  that,  even  in  his  double  disguise,  with  all  the 
machinery  of  his  soul  in  perfect  order,  he  could  pass 
through  the  crowded  street  as  unobserved  as  a  watch 
in  a  fob. 

Through  a  mistake,  he  went  first  into  the  punch- 
room,  which  he  took  for  the  dancing-hall,  and  where 
the  music  came  beautifully  softened  from  a  distance. 
Nothing  surprised  him  so  much,  as  that  he  should 
not  draw  off  his  miner's  dress  in  this  splendid  cav- 
ern of  the  Hartz  mountains,  thus  filled  with  moving 
figures.  As  he  looked  out  boldly  from  the  windows 
of  his  mask,  he  saw,  not  without  admiration,  many 
uncovered  faces,  with  the  loosened  mask  in  one 
hand,  while  the  other  held  a  glass;  he  looked  upon 
this  universal  refreshment  from  the  brunnen  of 
health,  or  cup  of  the  order,  as  a  regulation  of  the 
ball,  and  immediately  demanded  his  glass  ;  and  as 
the  mask  of  an  admiral  was  his  flugelman,  he  fol- 
lowed his  example,  and  demanded  yet  another.  He 
looked  in  vain  for  Wina,  and  there  was  no  appear- 
ance of  Vult.  A  votaress  of  the  order  of  the  slaves 
of  virtue  wandered  round  him,  and  looked  piercingly 


286 


WALT  AND  VÜLT, 


into  the  eyes  of  his  mask.  At  last,  she  seized  his 
hand,  and  sketched  with  her  finger  an  H  within  it. 
As  he  knew  nothing  of  this  remote,  or  rather  ap- 
proximating art  of  writing,  instead  of  answering,  he 
gently  pressed  the  hand  in  his  own. 

At  length,  Walt  joined  the  procession  that  was 
passing  into  the  adjoining  room,  a  noisy,  heated  hall, 
full  of  wandering,  agitated  forms,  where  the  vapor 
of  enchantment  circled  above,  and  gave  them  the 
appearance  of  those  shining  forms  that  rush  together 
from  opposite  points,  to  meet  each  other  in  the  north- 
ern aurora.  The  poetry  of  Walt's  mind  saw  in  this 
crowd  the  resurrection,  at  the  last  day,  of  the  an- 
cient inhabitants  of  the  earth  ;  of  the  old  knight- 
hood ;  of  saints,  of  vestals.  Moors,  Jews,  nuns, 
Tyrolese,  soldiers  ;  all  mingled  indiscriminately  to- 
gether. For  a  long  time,  he  followed  a  Jew,  who 
was  hung  round  with  dunning  demands,  cut  out  of 
the  Daily  Advertiser;  another,  who  had  all  the  warn- 
ing-tablets from  the  royal  gardens  divided  about  his 
limbs ;  then  one  with  a  monstrous  peruke,  full  of 
papillottes,  which  the  bearer  untwisted  and  divided. 
He  also  took  one,  but  found  nothing  but  a  stale  com- 
pliment upon  his  enchanting  eyes. 

As  yet,  he  had  seen  neither  Wina  nor  his  brother  ; 
and  he  began  to  fear  that  in  this  great  sea  he  should 
find  neither  pearl  nor  island,  when,  at  the  moment,  a 
young  lady  placed  herself  immediately  before  him, 
with  a  flower-wreath  upon  her  head.  From  the 
mouth  of  the  mask  depended  a  label  with  this  in- 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


287 


scription  :  "  I  am  the  personification  of  hope,  or 
Spes ;  represented  with  a  crown  of  flowers,  and  a 
lily  in  the  right  hand  ;  the  left  supported  by  an 
anchor,  or  a  strong  willow  wand."  *  Walt,  who  had 
been  from  the  first  t(V'mented  with  the  most  stupid 
thoughts,  would  secretly  have  guessed  it  Wina,  had 
the  form  been  more  slender,  and  not  taller  than 
hers. 

Hope  turned  quickly  back,  and  a  masked  shep- 
herdess drew  near,  with  a  simply  dressed  nun,  wear- 
ing only  a  half-mask,  and  a  wreath  of  sweet-scented 
auriculas.  The  shepherdess  took  his  hand,  and 
marked  a  small  H  therein ;  he  pressed  the  hand, 
and  shook  his  head,  for  he  thought  she  wished  to 
designate  herself  by  the  H.  Suddenly,  he  looked 
directly  at  the  half-mask,  or  rather  at  the  partially 
masked  countenance  of  the  nun,  and  knew  instantly, 
by  the  delicate,  but  full  line  of  the  rose-lips,  and  the 
decidedly  marked  chin,  that  Wina  stood  before  him, 
and  looked  at  him  with  gentle  eyes,  from  beneath 
the  dark  mask,  t  "Oh,  how  blessed!"  he  said, 
softly,  "  and  you  are  Mademoiselle  Raphaela  ?  " 
Both  assented.  Oh  !  what  more  can  one  desire  in 
such  soul-intoxicating  hours,  when,  invisibly,  like 
souls  without  bodies,  as  in  the  Elysian  fields,  they 
again  know  each  other. 

A  running  footman  danced  by,  and  took  out  Ra- 


*  See  Samm's  Mythology. 

t  Wina  wore  a  half-mask,  of  black  silk,  or  velvety 


288 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


phaela,  to  join  the  dance.  "  Good  fortune  !  Sir 
miner  ! "  he  said,  as  he  flew,  and  Walt  instantly 
knew  Flitt,  the  Alsatian.  He  now  stood  a  second 
alone,  near  the  calm  maiden,  while  the  crowd  was, 
for  a  moment,  to  both,  an  elfep tual  mask. 

Now,  charming  as  a  half-opened  bud  beneath  its 
protecting  sheath,  the  rose  and  lily  of  her  cheek  was 
disclosed  below  the  protecting  mask.  Like  spirits 
from  distant  western  worlds,  they  looked  at  each 
other  ;  and  as  stars  are  made  visible  by  the  eclipse 
of  the  sun,  thus  souls,  however  remote,  behind  these 
masks,  could  see,  and  understand  each  other. 

Walt,  as  he  stood  thus  entranced,  intimated  that 
he  wished  to  celebrate  and  consecrate  this  sweetest 
moment  of  his  life,  and,  as  Hope  passed  before 
them,  with  the  slave  of  virtue,  Wina  asked  him  if 
he  never  danced.  Immediately  they  joined  the 
stream  of  dancers.  Although  Walt  danced  as,  ac- 
cording to  Bottiger,  did  the  Romans,  whose  mimic 
dances  consisted  only  of  motions  of  the  hands  and 
arms,  yet,  involved  with  the  flying  swarm,  he  entered 
into  the  waltz  with  that  warmth  that  carried  them  to 
the  last  stage  of  fatigue.  Like  a  youth  who  touches 
for  the  first  time  the  hand  of  a  great,  renowned 
author,  or  as  gently  as  with  a  butterfly's  wing,  or 
the  perfume  of  the  auricula,  Walt  touched  the  back 
of  Wina,  while  he  removed  himself,  as  much  as  the 
waltz  permitted,  so  as  to  look  into  her  life-breathing 
face. 

If  there  be  a  harvest-dance  that  is  in  itself  a  bar- 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


289 


vest,  if  there  be  a  circle  that  encircles  intense  de- 
light, Walt  enjoyed  both ;  but  as  he  could  not  move 
his  feet,  and  keep  his  tongue  silent,  the  dancing-hall 
became  to  him  only  a  larger  hall  of  eloquence.  In 
the  midst  of  the  dance,  he  endeavored  to  prove  to 
Wina  that  through  the  act  of  dancing  the  body 
might  become  music  ;  that  man  might  form  wings, 
,  and  soar,  even  in  this  life  ;  that  two  souls  might 
themselves  be  alone,  in  absolute  solitude,  even  in  the 
midst  of  a  multitude  ;  and,  like  certain  heavenly 
bodies  surrounded  by  an  atmosphere  of  their  own, 
revolve  only  around  the  axis  of  each  other ;  that 
those  only  who  love  should  dance,  so  that  in  the 
symmetrical  grace  of  this  art  the  harmony  of  their 
souls  might  have  room  to  play.  As  they  paused  a 
moment,  and  he  looked  around  the  rushing  storm  of 
waltzers,  and  through  the  crowded  room,  "  How 
elevated,"  he  said,  "  is  the  appearance  of  the  man- 
tles and  plumed  hats  of  the  men ;  they  look  like 
the  walls  of  rock  around  the  parterre  of  a  garden 
filled  with  ladies,  like  flowers.  A  ball  en  masque  is 
perhaps  the  most  elevated  theme  that  humorous  poetry 
can  venture  to  sport  with.  In  the  view  of  the  poet, 
all  ranks  and  all  periods  are  equal,  and  the  outward 
only  the  garment,  where  the  inward  is  happiness  and 
splendor  ;  thus  here,  where  the  oldest  fashions  and 
customs  have  revived,  and  wander  around,  mingling 
with  the  latest  and  the  youngest,  humanity,  and  life 
itself,  has  become  poetry.  The  wildest  savage,  the 
most  refined  in  rank,  the  uneducated,  the  broadest  ca- 

VOL.  II.  19 


290 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


ricature,  all,  that  never  before  were  brought  together  ; 
even  departed  centuries  and  religions,  enemies  and 
friends,  are  rounded  in  one  easy,  joyful  circle ;  and 
this  circle  moves  splendidly  to  the  measure  of  mu- 
sic ;  for  music  is  the  climate  of  the  soul,  as  this 
masquerade  is  the  theatre  of  the  body.  One  only 
stands  here  serious,  undisguised,  unmasked,  and 
regulates  the  cheerful  confusion."  He  referred  to 
the  manager  of  the  ball,  who,  with  small,  uncovered 
head  and  face,  stood,  folded  in  his  mantle,  and  gave 
his  orders  apparently  with  displeasure. 

Wina  said  hastily,  and  in  a  low  voice,  "  Your 
views  are  in  themselves  poetry  :  but  to  a  being  of  a 
more  exalted  nature,  the  history  of  humanity  may 
appear,  indeed,  only  the  long  disguise  of  a  masque- 
rade." "  We  are,"  he  answered,  "  like  fireworks, 
that  an  all-powerful  being  throws  off  in  innumerable 
forms  of  beauty ;  "  and  he  led  her  again  into  the 
circle  of  the  waltz.  The  longer  this  continued,  the 
more  precious  seemed  to  him  the  spring  and  per- 
fumed air  that  met  them  in  their  flight.  When,  at 
length,  they  paused,  Walt  said  to  himself,  "Oh! 
might  I  to-day  offer  myself  up  for  this  most  precious 
soul,  then  were  I  most  blessed  !  "  Whenever,  after 
this,  he  ventured  to  speak  to  Wina,  Hope,  or  Spes 
was  ever  at  his  side.  The  nun,  like  the  dove,  with 
the  olive  leaf  in  her  mouth,  remarked,  not  indeed, 
that  he  spoke  impatiently,  and  appeared  to  turn 
away,  as  much  from  misconceiving,  as  from  igno- 
rance of  the  subject  of  their  conversation. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


291 


Although  Wah  had  believed,  every  time  he  had  seen 
Wina,  that  her  whole  and  entire  loveliness  had  been 
revealed  to  him,  yet  to-day  it  seemed  more  perfect, 
as  the  moon,  when  it  hangs  in  full,  unrivalled  light 
above  us,  has  yet  appeared  to  rise  a  perfect  orb  be- 
fore us.  At  the  end  of  the  waltz,  that  her  indul- 
gence of  his  awkwardness  might  be  crowned  with 
its  tnumph,  he  besought  her  hand  for  the  English 
dance  ;  merely  that  he  might  have  the  right  to  touch 
it,  and  in  the  pauses  of  the  dance,  stand  opposite  the 
lovely  lips  and  eyes.    She  answered  softly,  "  Ja  !  " 

In  a  yet  lower  tone,  he  heard  his  name  repeated. 
Hope  stood  behind  him,  and  said,  "  go  immediately 
through  the  large  door  of  the  hall,  and  look  round  at 
the  left."  It  was  Vult.  Walt  was  rejoiced  to  find, 
under  this  unknown,  the  form  of  the  known,  whom 
he  had  sought  in  vain  upon  his  Elysian  Island.  He 
obeyed,  and  followed  the  voice,  till  they  reached  a 
remote  cabinet,  where  Vult  beckoned  him  to  enter. 
Walt  would  have  embraced  his  brother,  but  Vult, 
having  closed  both  doors,  thrust  him  back,  saying, 
"  remember  the  sex  of  our  masks."  He  threw  his 
mask  away,  and  revealed  a  strange,  wasted,  hard, 
and  dry  expression,  while  the  haste  and  heat  of  fever 
was  betrayed  in  his  voice.  "  If  thou  hast  ever  borne 
any  love  to  thy  brother,"  he  cried,  with  a  harsh 
voice,  while  he  threw  off  his  crown  of  flowers,  and 
began  to  loosen  the  female  dress,  "  if  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  dearest  wish  of  his  heart,  the  worth 
of  which  you  shall  know  in  twenty-four  hours,  is  of 


29-2 


WALT  AND  ^•^:LT, 


any  value  to  thee  "  —  seeing  Walt  hesitate,  he  went 
on  — "  if,  in  the  midst  of  thy  joy,  thou  canst  not 
listen  with  indifference  to  his  most  beseeching  prayer, 
then  take  off  thy  disguise,  and  exchange  it  with  mine  ! 
be  thou  Hope,  and  let  me,  for  a  short  half  hour,  be 
the  miner  —  this  is  the  whole."  '-Dear  brother," 
said  the  alarmed  Walt,  as  soon  as  the  breath  of  the 
other  was  exhausted,  '*  I  answer,  as  you  would 
yourself  consent  to  such  a  request,  with  joy." 

"  Be  only  quick !  "  said  Vult,  without  thanking 
him.  Walt  began  to  undress  ;  the  gay  tones  of  his 
brother  now  frightening  him  nearly  as  much  as  the 
despairing  had  done  before,  although  he  little  knew 
the  object  of  the  exchange.  Vult  then  said,  although 
he  appeared  to  be  joking,  "  to-morrow,  all  will  be 
evealed." 

In  the  midst  of  the  mutual  exchange  of  their  dress- 
es, the  objection  occurred  to  Walt,  that,  perhaps, 
disguised  as  a  woman,  he  could  not  dance  the  pro- 
mised English  dance,  with  Wina.  "  Oh,"  he  said  to 
his  brother,  "  1  anticipated  so  much  happiness,  and, 
between  ourselves,  it  is  the  first  English  dance  that  I 
have  ever  attempted,  but  I  must  depend  a  little  for 
my  success,  upon  my  disguise,  and  my  present  hap- 
piness !  "  Then  flashed  into  Vull's  hard,  excited 
face,  a  lively,  sarcastic  expression.  "  Heaven ! 
hell !  "  he  said,  "  as  easily  could  I  sneeze  in  musical 
time,  or  stretch  back  my  arms,  and  travestie  the 
flute  behind  my  back,  as  you  could  do  that  which 
you  propose.    Your  waltzing,  hitherto  —  do  not  take 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


293 


the  information  ill  —  was  a  very  good  comic  imitation, 
partly  of  the  straight  forward  motion  of  the  wagon- 
er, partly  of  the  perpendicular  one  of  the  miner ; 
but  an  English  dance  !  Friend  !  and  which  ?  a  devil- 
ish hard  one,  if  it  be  not  an  Irish  ?  And  will  you 
venture  it  with  your  partner  ?  (who  is  perhaps,  al- 
though in  a  melancholy  form,  a  countess,)  now  blush- 
ing with  shame,  now  pale  as  a  corpse,  sinking  down 
under  the  sorrow  of  being  your  cross-hearer,  as 
soon  as  you  awkwardly  stop,  or  go  down  like  a 
comet.  But  this  will  now,  be  so  splendidly  accom- 
plished ;  for  I  will  undertake  it.  The  mob  shall  see 
that  the  wagoner  can  unmask  himself,  and  be  in  ear- 
nest, even  in  a  dance ;  for  I  will  dance  the  Änglaise 
in  your  mask.  Even  in  Poland,  I  was  celebrated  as 
a  dancer,  not  to  speak  of  this  place,  where  nothing 
Polish  dances,  except  the  bear." 

Walt  remained  some  moments  silent  —  then  he 
said,  very  seriously,  "  the  lady  to  whom  I  referred, 
and  to  whom  I  have  hitherto  given  this  mortification, 
is  the  Fraulein  Wina  Zablocki  —  but,  as  she  has  pro- 
mised this  dance  to  me,  how  will  you  excuse  yourself 
and  me,  to  her,  for  the  exchange  ?  " 

"  Oh,  this  is  to  be  our  triumph,"  he  answered, 
"  but  you  shall  not  guess,  till  to-morrow,  how  it  shall 
be  accomplished."  Then  he  imparted  to  him,  that 
he  had  to-day  won  so  much  at  Faro,  that  Walt  must 
receive  from  him  a  gold  piece,  to  refund  his  expenses  ; 
were  it  only,  also,  that  he  might  have  something  to 
do  among  the  spectators,  in  the  eating-room.  Then 


294 


WALT  AND  VÜLT, 


he  recommended  him  not  to  enter  into  conversation, 
as  Hope,  with  any  female  mask,  who,  out  of  her  own 
good  hopes,  would  easily  possess  his. 

Walt's  evening-star  rose  again,  with  full  splendor, 
as  he  placed  the  short  dress  upon  his  brother,  and 
looked  very  earnestly  in  his  face,  and  into  his  dark 
eyes,  as  he  said,  "  be  happy  !  brother  !  Joy  gives 
wings  to  men,  yes,  the  wings  of  angels.  I  am,  to- 
night, too  much  entranced  with  every  event,  to  be 
able  to  express  my  wishes  as  delicately  as  you  would 
yourself    You  can  love  yet  more  than  I  " 

"  Love,"  interrupted  Vult,  "  to  speak  in  your 
flute-language,  is  eternally  a  pain,  either  a  sweet,  or 
a  bitter  pain  ;  always  a  night,  in  which  no  star  arises, 
until  another  has  gone  down  —  friendship,  on  the 
contrary,  is  a  day,  where  nothing  goes  down,  but,  at 
last,  the  sun  itself — and  then — and  then,  it  is  dark 

night,  and  the  devil  appears.  But,  to  speak 

seriously,  Love  is,  at  the  same  time,  a  bird  of  Para- 
dise, and  a  mocking-bird  —  a  phoenix  of  weak  ashes, 
without  the  sun  ;  but  it  is  nearly  the  same  thing, 
whatever  one  says,  or  objects,  upon  love,  for  all  is 
true,  and,  at  the  same  time,  false.  Now,  I  will  place 
this  crown  upon  thy  head,  and  clothe  thee  with  what 
thou  hast  already  —  hope  !  Go  through  my  door, 
into  the  dancing-hall,  as  I  shall  through  yours  — 
observe  —  be  silent,  and  drink  much  !  " 

Walt  entered  the  room,  feeling  as  though  everyone 
could  see  the  exchange  of  masks,  and  could  discover 
the  kernel  beneath  the  second  hull,  easier  than  be- 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


295 


neath  the  first.  Some  ladies  indeed  remarked,  that 
Hope  had  now  blonde  hair  under  its  crown,  instead 
of  the  former  dark  ;  "  of  course,"  they  said,  "  it 
was  a  peruke."  Walt's  step,  also,  was  smaller,  and 
more  feminine,  which  was  more  appropriate  to  Hope's. 

Walt  soon  forgot  himself,  the  hall,  and  everything 
around  him,  when  he  saw  Vult,  without  hesitation, 
approach  Wina,  whom  every  one  knew,  and  lead 
her  to  the  head  of  the  English  dance  ;  and  then,  to 
the  astonishment  of  his  partner,  he  designed  an  artist- 
like sketch  of  the  dance,  and  then,  like  a  painter, 
began  to  execute  it  with  his  feet,  in  a  more  beautiful 
and  decorative  manner.  Wina's  astonishment  in- 
creased, for  she  believed  Walt  was  before  her,  whose 
voice  and  manner,  behind  the  mask,  contrary  to 
W^alt's  expectation,  he  accurately  imitated. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  dance,  Vult,  in  crossing 
hands,  in  leading  up  or  down,  suffered  many  Polish 
words,  as  it  were  a  breath  of  the  language,  to 
escape  him.  Like  butterflies,  wandering  over  the 
sea,  from  a  remote  island,  or  like  the  rare  and  distant 
song  of  the  lark,  in  a  late  autumnal  day,  were  these 
sounds  to  Wina.  Tears  of  joy  started,  and  sparkled 
behind  her  half-mask.  She  longed  to  pass  from  her 
one-syllabled  English,  and  gladly  would  have  ex- 
pressed to  the  accomplished  waltzer,  her  astonish- 
ment and  joy,  otherwise  than  by  glances.  She  saw 
that  his  expressed  neither  the  one,  nor  the  other. 
She  did,  however,  express  her  pleasure,  but  the  warm 
acknowledgment  of  his  long-concealed  talent,  was 


296 


WALT  A^'D  VULT, 


immediately  shrouded  by  bim  wiili  modesty.  "  He 
had,^^  (and  he  said  this  in  the  choicest  Polish,)  "  as 
little  knowledge  of  the  world,  and  more  simplicity, 
than  many  notaries,  and  with  justice,  was  called 
Goti-walt,  or,  *  What  God  will ! '  Yei  bis  heart  was 
warm,  his  soul  pure,  and  his  life  humbly  poetical ; 
but,  as  he  had  informed  her,  in  their  first  waltz,  he 
look  his  part  joyfully  in  the  masquerade  of  life ; 
whether  in  country,  or  shepherd  dances,  war  dances, 
or  the  dance  of  death.'^ 

As  the  second  part  of  the  music  rose,  in  its  deep 
waves  of  harmony,  into  that  voluptuous  overfulness 
of  sound,  which,  like  all  adagios,  powerfully  moves 
the  inmost  soul ;  and  the  secret  wishes  of  the  heart 
rise  from  the  sea  of  waves,  and  the  waltzers  and  the 
lights  whirl  confusedly  together,  and  the  wide  sound 
and  tumult  cause  the  disguised  maskers  to  shrink 
deeper  into  their  disguises ;  Yult,  in  his  flight,  said 
sofdy,  but  in  Polish,  "  Protected  by  the  deep  foliage 
of  flower-leaves,  happiness  rushes  and  revolves 
aiGimd  us  —  wherefore  am  I  the  only  one  for  whom 
it  perpetually  dies  ?  Why  is  there,  for  me,  neither 
heaven  nor  earth  r  Xun  !  thou  art  both !  In  thee  is 
all  my  heaven  ;  earth  consists  only  of  thee  !  Ah  !  I 
will  venture  all !  Thou  canst  make  of  a  Goitwalt,  a 
Grod-deserted !  Oh,  grant  me  but  one  sigh  !  Say 
but  one  word !  From  thy  tongue,  only,  will  I  receive 
my  execution  ;  if  it  moves,  it  will  be  to  me  a  sword 
—  nun !  "  "  Grottwalt,"  said  Wina,  with  embarrass- 
ment, and  some  agitation,  as  they  continued  to  follow 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


297 


the  mazes  of  the  dance,  "  how  can  a  human  tongue 
be  such  ?  Ah,  why  will  you  thus  torment  yourself 
and  me?"  "Nun,"  he  continued,  'Met  me  hear 
that  word,  although  it  be  my  executioner."  She 
answered,  with  a  soft  voice,  "  The  torture  of  silence 
is  more  severe  to  me,  than  it  would  be  to  speak  to 
another." 

Vult  had  now  received  the  last  blow,  the  certainty 
of  Wina's  love  for  him,  whose  character  and  ap- 
pearance he  had  assumed  ;  but  he  smiled  to  think, 
that  Walt,  as  yet,  in  truth,  and  in  appearance,  pos- 
sessed only  hope.  His  angry  and  tortured  mind 
could  not  bend  itself  to  any  shadow  of  thanks  ;  severe- 
ly, obstinately  silent,  he  finished  the  dance,  and  van- 
ished instantly  from  the  joyous  circle. 

Hope  had  remained  long  near  them,  blessing  him- 
self with  a  double  joy,  that  of  Wina's,  and  his  own, 
in  seeing  her  possessed  of  the  best  dancer  in  the 
room,  and  the  feeling,  that  whatever  was  said  to  her 
by  her  partner,  it  could  only  be  what  he  had  previous- 
ly imagined,  and  thus  he  drew  her  heavenly  glances 
upon  himself.  Just  as  the  wearisome  English  dance 
ended,  and  he  v,  as  preparing  to  present  to  her  his 
explanation,  he  was  unfortunately  drawn  by  the 
crowd  into  the  refreshment-room,  and  at  the  moment 
when  Vult,  in  the  mazes  of  the  dance,  was  whisper- 
ing his  love,  Hope  stood  crowned  with  flowers,  the 
empty,  flattering  inscription,  hanging  from  his  mask, 
and  looking  idly  at  the  wearisome  waltzers. 

Shortly  before  the  dance  ended,  the  Slave  of  Virtue 


298 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


approached,  and  drew  him  into  the  next  room.  Hope, 
hoped  for  a  hundred  strange  experiences.  "  So,  you 
know  me  no  longer  ? "  said  the  mask.  "  Do  you,  then, 
know  me  ?  "  asked  Hope.  "  Shut  your  eyes  a  mo- 
ment, I  will  unbind  your  mask,  and  mine  also." 
Walt  did  so ;  she  kissed  him  quickly  on  the  lips, 
saying,  "  I  have  seen  you  already,  before."  —  It  was 
Jacobine.  —  At  this  moment,  General  Zablocki  en- 
tered by  another  door.  —  "Ah,  Jacobine,  already 
again  at  your  hopes  !  "  and  withdrew  immediately. 
"  What  did  he  mean  ?  "  she  said,  but  Walt  ran, 
shocked,  and  half  undressed,  again  into  the  hall, 
where,  with  some  trouble,  he  assumed  again  the 
mask,  and  the  crowned  head. 

Wina  and  Vult  were  no  more  to  be  found ;  and 
after  long  seeking  and  hoping,  Walt  was  compelled 
to  go  home,  without  putting  off  his  character  of  hope. 
Thus  ended  the  masked  ball,  full  of  voluntary  con- 
cealment, ending,  at  last,  in  involuntary  disclosures, 
of  still  greater  perplexity. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


299 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

LETTER.  NidHT-WANDERlNG. 

As  soon  as  Vult's  eyes  were  completely  opened 
to  the  leniency  with  which  Wina  regarded  the  exces- 
sive temerity  of  Walt's  love,  and  his  own  complete 
defeat,  he  hastened  home,  with  the  wild  waves  of 
every  passion  raging  tumultuously  in  his  breast,  to 
write  the  following  letter  to  Walt. 

"  No  absurdity  is  now  wanting !  That  which  I 
have  long  suspected,  which  you  have  so  artfully  con- 
cealed from  me  ;  that  which  is,  by  yourself,  named 
love,  is,  like  the  heart  of  the  polypus,  self-concentrat- 
ed, and,  like  many  others,  will  yield  you  no  advan- 
tage. You  will  not  take  it  ill,  therefore,  that  I  go  to 
the  devil,  and  leave  you  alone  with  your  angel  ;  for 
friendship  is  as  unnecessary  to  love,  and  as  unlike  it, 
as  the  otto  of  roses  to  the  vinegar  of  roses.  Hold, 
then,  your  spiritual  plough,  till  you  ascend  those 
green  fields,  and  enjoy  securely  that  which  can 
scarcely  be  found  upon  the  island  of  Friendship. 
Heavens  !  for  what  purpose,  then,  were  we  together ; 
and  mounted,  like  knights  of  old,  upon  the  same 
mourning,  or  torture-horse,  or  rather,  torture-ass  ? 
Merely  that  I  might,  upon  the  way,  direct  and  restrain 


300 


v:alt  and  vult, 


the  horse,  for  the  advantage  of  your  inheritance,  and 
suffer  you  neither  to  dismount,  nor  to  fall?  The 
seven  heirs  will  know  whether  I  have  injured  them  ! 
How  then  do  wandering  men  differ,  in  their  influence 
upon  this  earth,  from  the  wandering  heavenly  bodies, 
by  whose  daily  and  yearly  aberrations  and  mutations 
they  can  make  nothing,  but  merely  the  good  Zach,* 
the  Zachischen  tables.  Thus  you  would  have  formerly 
gone  down,  if  you  had  not  flattered  yourself  that  I 
would  have  formed  you,  and  stamped  you  with  my  own 
image.  I  leave  you,  as  I  found  you  —  and  go,  as  I 
came.  —  You  have  not  erased  the  mark  of  the  mint 
from  myself;  so  that  I  easily  conclude  the  opinion  is 
true,  that,  in  the  spiritual  kingdom,  there  are  the 
same  characteristics  as  in  the  physical ;  that  the  traces 
of  the  wagoner's  frock  are  seen  as  well  in  the  re- 
doubt, as  in  the  highway. 

"  In  the  morning,  I  shall  be  wandering  again  in  the 
wide  world.  The  approaching  spring  already  calls 
me  into  a  distant,  open  life.  Money,  to  pay  my  debts, 
I  leave  with  you,  and  with  it,  my  farewell !  Should 
any  one  blame,  and  complain  of  me,  brother  !  defend 
me  not !  Truly,  if  they  hate  me,  I  am  little  anxious 
to  ask,  whether  they  hate  three  degrees  more  or 
less;  and  how  many  men  are  there,  that  deserve  that 
we  should  allow  ourselves  to  be  loved  by  them  ? 
Except  myself  —  not  two  —  scarcely  one  ! 

"  We  were  both,  to  each  other,  v.' holly  open,  and 


*  Baron  Zach,  a  celebrated  astronomer. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


801 


yet  wholly  unintelligible  ;  we  were  as  transparent  as 
a  glass  door ;  but,  brother,  in  vain  I  wrote  with  legible 
characters,  my  own  upon  the  outside  of  thine  ;  as  they 
appeared  reversed  within,  thou  couldst  read  within, 
nothing  but  the  reversed  ;  and  so  it  happens,  the 
whole  world  appears  very  legible,  but  the  writing, 
when  attempted  to  be  read,  is  reversed.  Wherefore, 
then,  should  we  plague,  and  be  plagued,  with  each 
other  ?  Thou,  as  a  loving  poet,  or  a  poetical  lover, 
will  bear  thy  future  fortune  as  easily  as  the  winter 
landscape  bears  the  hailstorm.  But  why  should  1  be 
so  foolish,  as  to  drink  daily  a  flask  of  burgundy  the 
less  —  perhaps  two  ?  You  could  not  pay  me  for  not 
drinking  ;  and  I  could  not  pay,  if  I  drank.  Or,  can 
you  believe,  that  a  man  who  knows  how  to  blow  the 
flute  ;  who  has  seen  and  enjoyed  more  of  the  world 
than  all  his  fellows  ;  who  has  taken  his  supper,  his 
wine,  and  his  ice,  an  hour  after  midnight,  in  Paris 
and  Warsaw,  can  as  easily  leave  his  Paris  and  War- 
saw, as  thou  thy  Haslau  and  Elterlein  ?  and  sacrifice 
himself  in  Newpeter's  mansard  ;  a  room  that  is  not 
large  enough  to  hold  the  altar  of  sacrifice.  But  I  be- 
lieved I  was  a  Cook,  and  that  I  had  discovered  the 
Friendly  and  Society  Islands,  and  among  them  the 
beautiful  Island  of  0-waihi ;  but  when,  at  last,  like 
the  discoverer,  and  circumnavigator  of  the  world,  I 
would  again  set  up  my  masts,  I  was,  like  him,  killed 
and  eaten  ! 

"  My  flute,  also,  is  superfluous  to  you  ;  for  once, 
(indeed  you  may  have  forgotten  it,)  when  you  heard 


302  WALT  AND  VULT, 

an  obeo,  you  took  it  for  a  flute ;  and,  as  you  say 
the  highest  tones  please  you  most,  you  can  always 
be  musically  happy  ;  for,  in  fact,  all  the  sounds  that 
meet  one  in  the  streets,  shrieks,  discords,  and  angry 
tones,  are  upon  a  high,  indeed  the  highest  key. 

"  My  thoughts  throw  themselves  wildly  about,  like 
blocks  of  granite  ;  I  write  in  darkness,  and  only  by 
the  help  of  the  stars  ;  I  have  no  time  —  the  post  is 
ordered  —  nothing  is  yet  packed,  and  I  would  not 
that  you  should  know  of  my  invisibility,  till  after  it 
has  taken  place.  By  letters,  that  I  hope  to  send,  you 
shall  receive  the  few  digressions  yet  wanting  for  our 
'  romance^''  if  it  can  indeed  be  pasted  together,  and, 
like  a  long-tailed  paper  kite,  ascend  over  Leipsic,  the 
week  after  the  fair. 

"Fare  thee  well  —  thou  canst  not  be  altered — 1 
not  improved  —  so  we  will  place  mutually  an  air  per- 
spective between  each  other,  and  both  say,  '  Why 
wert  thou  a  fool,  and  not  a  lamb  ? '  And  yet,  Walt, 
you  alone  are  to  blame.*' 

***** 

After  Vult  had  placed  within  his  letter,  the  envel- 
ope, that  contained  the  money,  he  hastened  to  pack 
his  journal  notes,  and  musical  notcE^  ready  for  the 
post,  that  he  might  depart  before  his  brother  appear- 
ed. He  heard  him  ascending  the  stairs.  He  had 
time  only  to  throw  himself  on  his  bed,  and  to  snore 
like  a  wagoner,  before  he  entered.  Walt  approach- 
ed his  bed,  and,  in  the  character  of  Hope,  looked  in 
his  brown,  glowing  face,  agitated,  as  it  appeared  to 


OR  THE  TWINS 


303 


be,  with  stormy  dreams.  Softly  he  crept  around, 
breathing  out  dancing  melodies,  to  which  the  mur- 
mured words  of  love  were  the  text. 

At  last  Vult  arose,  as  if  vexed  at  this  calm,  and 
quiet  heaven,  put  on  the  appearance  of  a  somnambu- 
list, and  went,  with  closed  eyes,  about  the  chamber, 
that  thus  he  might  be  undisturbed  in  playing  his  part ; 
and,  as  soon  as  his  brother  slept,  go  forth  unregretted. 
"  Ha,  there  !  "  he  cried,  "  you  people,  and  what 
other  villains  there  are  among  you,  help  me  pack  ! ' 
Take  hold,  you  helper's  helper !  Am  I  not,  at  three 
o'clock,  this  very  day,  going  to  the  island  of  thieves  ? 
There,  beneath,  stands  my  horse,  already  saddled." 
Then  he  drew  himself  away.  Walt  watched,  fol- 
lowing, with  his  eyes,  his  apparently  blind  steps. 
"  Especially,  friend,"  he  went  on,  "  men  and  cu- 
cumbers are  good  for  nothing,  as  soon  as  they  are 
ripe." 

Then  he  went  within  the  partition  of  his  chamber, 
and,  turning  his  back  to  Walt,  packed  his  journal  and 
papers  in  the  coffer. — Upon  the  flute  ?  no  indeed, 
but  upon  the  comb,  I  will  play  in  future,  and  comb 
at  the  same  time.  Tell  me  nothing  of  love.  Sir 
Field-marshal,  it  is  too  foolish  —  a  pretty  antique, 
that  they  must  run  after  the  whole  day.  A  temple 
of  the  sun,  in  the  form  of  a  breeches  pocket  —  and 
that  foolish  thing,  believes  it  lives  !  I  have  it  from  her- 
self!  So  simple,  and  so  unsatisfied  is  man,  that  God 
places  him  before  a  magnifying-glass.  —  Engrave  me 
in  copperplate,  like  an  English  game-cock  —  I  will  be 


304 


WALT  AND  YTTLT, 


even  the  month's  copperplate  for  some  wolf's  month  — 
dearest  Secretary  of  Artilleri  ."  As  he  was  now  ready, 
and  merely  had  to  close  the  coffer,  he  appeared  to  re- 
flect, and  a  new  idea  to  strike  him.  "  Get  you  gone, 
CJorpse-raarshal !  I  will  shut  my  own  coffin,  and  myself 
keep  the  key  ;  hang  it  round  my  neck  for  a  medal,  and 
let  nobody  in,  but  one  or  two  good  friends.  Let  me 
have  whole  and  half  mourning — but  no  man  shall 
wear  it,  but  myself.  Music,  except  as  a  requiem, 
must  be  forbidden,  at  least,  during  the  time  of  mourn- 
ing; but  I  insist  upon  a  very  severe  regulation  of 
grief ;  all  the  chamber-furniture  shall  be  of  poinard 
blue  steel ;  ever)-  mouse  in  my  house  shall  wear 
crape ;  my  butterflies  can  be  furnished  with  mourn- 
ing probosces,  and  their  heads  enveloped  in  mourning- 
hoods.  —  But  what  the  devil  is  that  ?  There  I  stand, 
living  !  and  appear  to  be  my  own  self  —  wait  —  we 
will  soon  see  which  of  us  two  is  the  true  jDz/,  and  can 

maintain  it."  Here  he  gave  himself  and  Walt  a 

severe  blow,  and  appeared  to  be  awakened  by  it. 
After  he  had  appeared  to  puzzle  himself,  and  to  find 
out  where,  and  what  he  was,  he  was  persuaded  to 
throw  himself  on  the  bed.  Meantime  both  lay  a  long 
time,  watching,  each  the  other,  till  at  last,  both  fell 
into  a  true  sleep. 

Bat  Walt,  soon  after,  forgetting,  in  the  intoxication 
of  a  blessed  dream,  the  former  strange  scene,  waked 
Vult,  to  relate  to  hiro,  from  his  own  bed,  the  follow- 
ing dream. 

"  I  scarcely  know,*'  he  said,  "  how,  or  from 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


305 


whence,  the  dream  came,  but  as  from  chaos  the  in- 
visible world  was  born  at  once,  and  one  form  arose 
from  another  ;  trees  grew  from  flowers,  and  from 
these,  pillars  of  clouds,  which  formed  themselves 
into  flowers  and  open  faces.  Then  I  saw  a  wide, 
empty  sea,  upon  which  merely  the  little  spotted 
nucleus  of  the  world  tossed  and  floated.  In  my 
dream,  a  voice,  1  knew  not  whose,  gave  names  to 
everything.  Then  there  passed  through  the  sea  a 
stream  bearing  the  form  of  Venus.  It  paused,  and 
the  sea  closed  about  the  beautiful  form,  and  the  stars 
fell  upon  it,  from  above,  like  snow,  and  the  sky  was 
empty,  except  in  the  place  of  the  noonday  sun,  which 
appeared  to  glow  like  the  eastern,  rising  day.  The 
sea  followed  it,  and  arose,  towering  in  monstrous, 
leaden-colored,  serpentine  waves,  one  following  the 
other  from  the  horizon,  till  the  mid-day  heaven  was 
wholly  involved ;  beneath,  arose  unnumbered  mul- 
titudes of  mourning  men,  as  if  born  from  the 
realms  of  death,  —  a  thick  night,  as  of  the  grave, 
rushed  after  them  ;  but  a  storm  pursued,  and 
crushed  all  into  one  uniform  sea.  Then  high  above, 
in  the  calm  blue  of  heaven,  a  golden  bee,  softly 
singing  to  a  little  star,  lighted  on  white  flowers ; 
and  round  about  on  the  horizon,  stood  towers,  made 
cheerful  by  shining  pinnacles,  till  again  the  mon- 
strous waves,  like  giant  animals,  stalked  on  to  devour 
them. 

"  Then  I  heard  a  sigh,  as  if  all  were  vanishing.  I 
VOL.  II.  20 


306 


WALT  AND  VüLT, 


saw  nothing  but  the  smooth,  quiet  sea,  from  which, 
without  the  motion  of  a  wave,  or  like  Hght  through 
glass,  arose  the  daughter  of  evil.  '  Since  eternity 
began,'  she  said,  '  whenever  the  sea  is  smooth  as 
oil,  the  most  violent  storm  may  be  feared;  wert  thou 
once  over,  I  should  relate  to  thee  the  most  ancient 
fable.'  Her  appearance  was  wonderful ;  her  gar- 
ments of  the  green  and  blue  of  the  sea  ;  little  fins 
grew  from  her  back;  her  face  was  like  the  gray 
color  of  the  sea,  yet  youthful,  but  full  of  contending 
passions.  '  There  is,'  she  continued,  '  an  eternally 
ancient  tradition,  old,  gray,  blind,  deaf,  and  that  tra- 
dition often  makes  itself  feh.  Deep  in  the  latest 
corner  of  the  world  it  yet  exists,  and  God  sometimes 
visits  it,  to  see  if  it  yet  moves  and  feels.  Art  thou 
once  over  }  Then  look  at  the  animals  upon  the 
shore.'  About  the  smooth  sea  were  lying  giant  ani- 
mals that  appeared  to  sleep,  but  to  talk  in  their  sleep, 
and  to  relate  to  each  other  their  own,  ancient,  burn- 
ing hunger  and  thirst  for  blood. 

"  Ere  I  could  answer,  the  enemy  continued : 
'  Dost  thou  perceive  that  ancient  re-echo }  no  human 
being  has  ever  heard  the  first  sound  ;  for  that  which 
you  hear  is  a  reflection  of  an  echo ;  if  once  the  echo 
ceases,  time  will  be  past,  and  eternity  will  come 
back,  and  bring  the  sound.  As  soon  as  all  is  still,  I 
shall  hear  the  three  sounds,  yes,  the  original  sound, 
that  the  oldest  fable  itself  relates  ;  and  it  is  that 
which  the  echo  repeats.' 

"  Before  I  could  answer,  the  delicate  fins  had 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


307 


grown  to  long,  pointed  wings,  witii  which  she  gave 
me  a  sudden  and  angry  blow,  and  vanished ;  and  the 
sweet  tones  alone  remained.  Then  I  appeared  to 
sink  into  the  winged  waves  of  an  aerial  sea,  far 
above  the  clouds.  With  the  swiftness  of  an  arrow, 
I  cut  through  space,  supported  by  the  dark  water, 
and  looking  through  the  glassy  surface,  which  I 
could  not  penetrate.  Then,  I  perceived,  distant  [or 
near,  I  could  not  tell  which,  stretched  out  before  me, 
and  shining  through  vapor,  the  true  land.  The 
sun  appeared,  like  an  ephemera,  to  play  in  its  own 
beams,  and  the  beams  to  listen ;  but  only  the  soft 
tones  of  the  true  land  reached  my  ear.  Golden 
clouds  moved  warmly  over  the  country,  and  the 
liquid  light  dropped  from  the  overgushing  cups  of 
roses  and  lilies.  A  beam  of  light  from  a  dew-drop 
passed  from  thence  through  my  desert  sea,  pierced 
glowing  to  my  heart,  and  lay  therein ;  the  sweet 
sounds  refreshed  it,  so  that  it  did  not  waste.  I  cried 
aloud,  '  It  rains  from  thence  warm  tears  of  joy  ;  love 
only  is  a  warm  tear  ;  but  the  tear  of  hate  is  cold.' 
Deep  in  this  land  arose  successive  worlds,  like  balls 
of  vapor  from  a  distant,  concealed,  central  sun  ;  a 
vast  wheel  turned  in  the  midst,  from  which  a  thou- 
sand threads  of  silver  wove  them  together,  and 
drew  them  always  nearer  and  closer  to  heaven.  A 
swarm  of  golden  bees  hung  about  a  lily  ;  a  bee 
played  with  a  rose ;  they  caressed  each  other,  al- 
though with  thorns  and  honey.  A  dark  night-flower 
grew  eagerly  towards  heaven,  and   bowed  itself 


308 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


always  lower  and  lower,  as  it  drew  towards  the 
light;  a  spider  hastened,  and  wove  its  threads  dili- 
gently in  the  cup  of  the  flower,  to  take  the  night 
prisoner,  —  yes,  from  thence  to  spin  the  corpse-veil 
of  the  w^orld  ;  but  all  the  threads  were  steeped  in 
dew,  and  shimmered  in  the  eternal  snow  of  light  that 
rested  on  the  heights. 

" '  All  sleeps  in  the  true  land, '  I  said  ;  '  love, 
only,  dreams.'  Then  came  a  morning  star,  and 
kissed  a  white  rose-bud  ;  it  opened  its  cup,  and 
spread  its  petals  to  the  star ;  a  zephyr  hung  caress- 
ing upon  the  highest  branch  of  an  oak ;  one  of 
the  softest  tones  came,  and  kissed  the  May-flower  ; 
it  opened  its  little  bell  and  w^as  borne  swiftly  up- 
wards. Turtle  doves  rocked  themselves  upon  the 
night- violets,  and,  intoxicated  with  the  perfume, 
threw  playfully,  caresses  and  flower-leaves  at  each 
other. 

"  In  an  instant  there  shot  from  heaven  a  sharp 
lightning-star  (it  was  called  the  aurora),  and  instantly 
tore  my  sea  apart,  and,  instead  of  the  indistinct 
plain,  a  broad  sheet  of  lightning  lay  before  me.  It 
united  again,  and  the  twilight  of  the  true  land  again 
awoke ;  but  all  was  altered  ;  instead  of  the  flowers, 
the  stars,  the  music,  and  the  doves,  all  had  become 
slumbering  children.  E,\ery  child  embraced  a  child, 
and  the  beams  of  aurora  sounded  continually  around 
them.  The  lofty  statue  of  the  god  of  thunder  stood 
in  the  midst  of  the  country.  One  child,  after  an- 
other, flew  to  the  arms,  and  placed  a  butterfly  upon 


OR  THE  TWINS 


309 


the  head  of  the  living  eagle,  that  circled  around  the 
god.  Then  each  child  fluttered  joyously  to  the  near- 
est cloud,  and  looked  down  for  the  others,  that  the  arm 
lovingly  raised  up.  Ah  !  thus  is  God,  in  whose  eyes 
we  are  all  children !  thus  he  -  takes  us  to  his  love  ! 
Now  the  children  played  among  each  other,  loving. 
'  Be  my  flower,'  said  one  to  another ;  the  other  com- 
plied, and  suffered  itself  to  be  worn  on  the  breast  of 
the  asker.  '  Be  my  little  star,'  said  another,  and  it 
was  so.  '  Be  my  God,'  '  And  thou  mine,'  they  said 
to  each  other ;  they  did  not  change,  but  looked  at 
each  other  with  warmer  love,  and  vanished,  as 
though  dying  therein.  '  Remain  with  me,'  the  chil- 
dren said  to  each  other,  *  even  if  thou  must  depart.' 
Then  the  departing  became  in  the  distance,  like  a 
soft  flush  of  evening  ;  then  a  faint  evening  star ;  and, 
as  it  drew  deeper  from  the  land,  like  a  shimmer 
of  the  moon,  and,  at  length,  from  distance  to  dis- 
tance, it  was  lost  in  the  fading  sound  of  a  flute,  or 
the  softest  note  of  the  nightingale. 

"  In  the  east,  and  the  west,  opposite  each  other,  was 
the  glow  of  morning ;  continually  rising  higher,  the 
deepening  colors  rushed  together,  and  mingled  sounds, 
like  choirs  of  music,  instead  of  colors.  The  all- 
powerful  sound  caused  the  flowers  to  become  trees. 
The  children  had  grown  apparently  to  men,  and 
stood  there  at  length,  like  gods  and  goddesses,  look- 
ing earnestly  towards  the  east  and  the  west.  The 
morning  choir  now  sounded  like  thunder,  and  every 


310 


WALT  AND  VULT, 


sound  kindled  a  more  powerful  one  opposite,  till  two 
suns  appeared  to  be  just  rising  in  the  music  of  morn- 
ing. As  they  approached  each  other,  the  sounds 
gradually  died  away,  till  silence  reigned  over  all. 
Behold !  from  the  east,  love  arose.  Psyche  rushed 
from  the  west,  and,  as  they  met  in  the  midst  of  hea- 
ven, they  became  two  soft  tones,  dying  and  mingling, 
and  awaking  again,  united  with  each  other.  '  Thou 
and  two  holy,  but  fearful  sounds,  for  ever  drawn 
from  the  deep  breast,  and  from  eternity  itself ;  as 
though  they  were  the  first  words  that  God  pronounced, 
and  the  first  that  were  answered.  The  mortal  cannot 
hear  them,  without  dying.  Then  I  slept  deeper,  even 
the  sleep  of  sleep  itself ;  sleep  intoxicated  ;  and  I 
was  as  if  enveloped  and  stupified  with  the  flower- 
perfume  of  a  passing  paradise. 

"  Then  I  found,  suddenly,  that  I  was  standing  with 
the  wicked  enemy  again,  near  the  first  shore  ;  but 
she  trembled,  as  if  with  cold,  and  pointed  anxiously 
to  the  smooth  sea,  with  the  words,  '  Behold  !  eternity 
is  past !  the  storm  comes,  for  the  water  is  rising  ! ' 
I  looked :  the  immeasurable  space  was  broken  into 
innumerable  mountain  waves,  and  the  storm  reached 
the  skies ;  but,  deep  in  the  horizon,  behind  the  crest- 
ed billows,  wavered  and  rose  a  gentle  morning  light. 
I  awoke.  What  sayest  thou,  brother,  to  this  artisti- 
cally arranged  dream  ?  " 

"  That  you  shall  immediately  hear,  as  you  lie  in 
your  bed,"  Vult  answered  ;  took  his  flute,  and  went. 


OR  THE  TWINS. 


311 


playing,  from  the  chamber,  down  the  stairs,  out  of 
the  house,  and  so  to  the  post-house.  Walt  heard 
him  from  the  street,  listened  delightedly  at  the  part- 
ing tones,  for  he  knew  not,  that  with  them  his  brother 
flew  from  him  ! 

No.  63.   Lac  Lünes,  collected  on  Mount  Pilate. 


THE  END. 


OCT      2  in/!0 


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